COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 
DAVIS,  CALIFORNIA 


Ube  IRural  Science  Series 

EDITED  BY  L.  H.  BAILEY 


THE  SUGAR-BEET  IN  AMERICA 


Eurai  Science  Series 

EDITED  BY  L.  H.  BAILEY 


THE  SOIL.     King. 

THE  SPRAYING  OF  PLANTS.     Lodeman. 

MILK  AND  ITS  PRODUCTS.    Wing.  Enlarged  and  Revised. 

THE  FERTILITY  OF  THE  LAND.     Roberts. 

THE    PRINCIPLES    OF    FRUIT-GROWING.     Bailey.     80th 

Edition,  Revised. 
BUSH-FRUITS.     Card.     Revised. 
FERTILIZERS.     Voorhees.     Revised. 
THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  AGRICULTURE.    Bailey.     Revised. 
IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINAGE.     King. 
THE  FARMSTEAD.     Roberts. 
RURAL  WEALTH  AND  WELFARE.     Fairchild. 
THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  VEGETABLE-GARDENING.   Bailey. 
FARM  POULTRY.    Watson.    Enlarged  and  Revised. 
THE   FEEDING   OF   ANIMALS.      Jordan.       (Now  Rural 

Text-Book  Series.     Revised.) 
THE  FARMER'S  BUSINESS  HANDBOOK.     Roberts. 
THE  DISEASES  OF  ANIMALS.     Mayo. 
THE  HORSE.     Roberts. 
How  TO  CHOOSE  A  FARM.     Hunt. 
FORAGE  CROPS.     Voorhees. 

BACTERIA  IN  RELATION  TO  COUNTRY  LIFE.     Lipman. 
THE  NURSERY-BOOK.     Bailey. 
PLANT-BREEDING.     Bailey  and  Gilbert.    Revised. 
THE  FORCING-BOOK.     Bailey. 

THE  PRUNING-BOOK.  Bailey.  (Now  Rural  Manual  Series.) 
FRUIT-GROWING  IN  ARID  REGIONS.  Paddock  and  Whipple. 
RURAL  HYGIENE.     Ogden. 
DRY-FARMING.     Widtsoe. 
LAW  FOR  THE  AMERICAN  FARMER.     Green. 
FARM  BOYS  AND  GIRLS.     McKeever. 
THE  TRAINING  AND  BREAKING  OF  HORSES.    Harper. 
SHEEP-FARMING  IN  NORTH  AMERICA.     Craig. 
COOPERATION  IN  AGRICULTURE.     Powell. 
THE  FARM  WOODLOT.     Cheyney  and  Wentling. 
HOUSEHOLD  INSECTS.     Herrick. 
CITRUS  FRUITS.     Coit. 
PRINCIPLES  OF  RURAL  CREDITS.     Morman. 
BEEKEEPING.     Phillips. 

SUBTROPICAL  VEGETABLE-GARDENING.     Rolfs. 
TURF  FOR  GOLF  COURSES.     Piper  and  Oakley. 
THE  POTATO.     Gilbert. 
STRAWBERRY-GROWING.     Fletcher. 
WESTERN  LIVE-STOCK  MANAGEMENT.     Potter. 


THE 

SUGAR-BEET  IN  AMERICA 


BY 

F.   S.   HARRIS,   PH.D. 

DIRECTOR   AND   AGRONOMIST 

UTAH  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 
AND  PROFESSOR  OF  AGRONOMY  -'.  '. 
UTAH  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE. 


gorfc 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1919 

AU  righto  retervtd 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

LIBRARY 

COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 
DAVIS 


c.t*  COPTWGHT,  1919, 

^    tff,THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  January,  1919. 


UNIVERSITY  FAHM 


Nottoooft 

J.  S.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  A  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

SUGAR,  which  was  once  a  luxury,  has  become  a  necessity 
in  modern  dietaries.  The  civilized  nations  have  become 
so  accustomed  to  its  use  as  an  important  food  that  great 
inconvenience  is  experienced  if  it  cannot  be  had  or  if  the 
supply  is  reduced.  This  has  made  sugar-producing  plants 
almost  as  staple  as  those  from  which  bread  is  derived.  As  a 
result,  sugar-beets,  in  the  past  century,  have  won  an  im- 
portant place  among  the  profitable  crops  of  the  temperate 
zone.  In  most  of  the  European  countries  they  have  been 
raised  extensively,  whereas  in  America  their  growth  has 
been  confined  to  a  comparatively  few  localities.  In  re- 
cent years,  however,  the  area  has  been  greatly  extended, 
and  increased  interest  has  been  taken  in  establishing  a 
domestic  beet-sugar  industry. 

Much  has  been  written  about  sugar-beets  in  America 
within  the  last  thirty  years,  but  most  of  this  material  is 
scattered  through  numerous  bulletins  and  reports  of  ex- 
periment stations  and  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  is  not  easily  available.  For  some  time 
a  book  containing  the  important  facts  regarding  sugar- 
beet  production  has  been  needed.  This  has  become  more 
apparent  since  the  beginning  of  the  European  war,  which 
caused  a  sugar  shortage  in  western  Europe  and  America. 
In  response  to  this  need  the  present  volume  is  prepared. 
It  is  hoped  that  it  may  be  useful  to  farmers  who  are  rais- 


3939? 


vi  Preface 

ing  sugar-beets,  to  agriculturists  of  the  sugar  companies, 
and  to  students  of  sugar-beets  in  agricultural  colleges  as 
a  text.  Those  who  do  not  find  in  the  volume  sufficient 
information  for  their  needs  will  find  references  to  additional 
material  in  Appendix  A. 

The  author  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to 
the  many  individuals  who  have  been  helpful  in  the  work 
of  preparing  the  manuscript.  He  is  under  special  obli- 
gation to  Prof.  George  Stewart,  Dr.  E.  G.  Titus,  Mr.  J.  W. 
Jones,  Dr.  G.  R.  Hill,  Jr.,  Prof.  G.  B.  Hendricks,  Dr. 
George  Thomas,  Dr.  W.  E.  Carroll,  Prof.  O.  W.  Israelsen, 
Mr.  D.  W.  Pittman,  Prof.  H.  R.  Hagan,  Prof.  M.  H. 
Greene,  Mr.  L.  A.  Moorhouse,  Dr.  M.  C.  Merrill,  Mr. 
W.  K.  Winterhalter,  Mr.  H.  Mendelson,  Mr.  A.  M. 
McOmie,  Mr.  J.  A.  Brock,  Dr.  N.  Kopeloff,  Dr.  C.  O. 
Townsend,  Mr.  Truman  G.  Palmer,  Dr.  E.  D.  Ball,  Dr. 
O.  E.  Baker,  and  Mr.  W.  H.  Wallace,  who  have  read 
chapters  and  offered  valuable  suggestions ;  to  Mrs.  F.  S. 
Harris,  Mr.  K.  B.  Sauls,  Miss  O.  Blanche  Condit,  and 
Miss  Carrie  Thomas  for  assistance  in  preparing  the  ma- 
terial for  publication  and  in  proof-reading;  and  to  the 
various  sugar  companies  who  have  furnished  photographs, 
statistics,  and  other  valuable  material.  He  wishes  to 
make  particular  mention  of  the  assistance  rendered  by 
Mr.  N.  I.  Butt,  who  did  much  laborious  work  on  the 
literature  and  helped  in  collecting  statistics  and  preparing 
diagrams. 

F.  S.  HARRIS. 
LOGAN,  UTAH, 
Oct.  1, 1918. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 
GENERAL  VIEW  or  THE  INDUSTRY 1-5 

CHAPTER  II 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  BEET-SUGAR  INDUSTRY        .       .         6-21 

Early  use  of  sugar 6 

Early  history  of  beets 8 

Discovery  of  sugar  in  beets,  9 

First  commercial  extraction  of  sugar,  10 

Assistance  from  Napoleon,  11 

Decline  of  the  industry,  12 

Revival  of  the  industry,  12 
The  industry  in  the  United  States         ....  16 

Commercial  success  in  the  United  States,  18 

Later  developments,  20 

CHAPTER  Hiy 

THE  SUGAR-BEET  PLANT 22-35 

Botanical  group 22 

Habit  of  growth 23 

Parts  of  the  plant 24 

How  the  plant  feeds  and  grows 26 

The  storage  of  sugar 29 

Factors  affecting  percentage  of  sugar     ....  31 

vii 


viii  Contents 

PAGES 

Relation  of  size  of  beet  to  sugar-content       ...  32 

Flowers  and  seeds  34 


CHAPTER  IV 

CONDITIONS  FOR  GROWING  SUGAR-BEETS         .       .       .       36-53 
Climatic  conditions 37 

Temperature,  37 

Sunlight,  40 

Moisture,  40 

Wind,  43 

The  soil 43 

Economic  conditions 44 

Competition  with  other  crops,  44 

Labor,,  45 

Capital,  48 

Transportation,  49 

Special  troubles,  50 

Kind  of  farmers,  50 

The  factory,  52 

CHAPTER  V 

SOILS 54-72 

Relation  of  soil  to  beet-culture 54 

Origin  of  soils 56 

Classification  of  soils 57 

Soil  and  subsoil                      \ 58 

Soil  texture  -..-.- 59 

Soil  structure        *. 61 

Improving  soil  tilth 61 

Air  in  the  soil 62 

Soil  heat  63 


Contents  ix 

PAGES 

Organic  matter 63 

Soil  moisture 64 

Soil  alkali 66 

Acid  soils "  68 

Plant-food  in  the  soil 69 

Soil  bacteria 70 

Selecting  a  sugar-beet  soil 71 

CHAPTER  VI 

MANURING  AND  ROTATIONS 73-91 

Plant-food  requirements  of  beets 74 

Ways  of  maintaining  soil  fertility 75 

How  to  determine  fertilizer  needs 76 

Commercial  fertilizers  for  beets 77 

Nitrogen,  78 

Phosphorus,  79 

Potassium,  80 

Indirect  fertilizers 81 

Home-mixing  of  fertilizers 82 

Farm  manure  for  sugar-beets 82 

Handling  farm  manure,  84 

Green-manures 85 

Rotations 86 

Reasons  for  crop  rotations,  86 

Principles  of  good  rotations,  88 

Rotations  with  sugar-beets,  88 

CHAPTER  VII 

CONTRACTS  FOR  RAISING  BEETS 92-102 

Advantages  of  contracting 92 

Items  included  in  the  contract      ....  93 


x  Contents 

PAGES 

Types  of  contracts *  94 

Sample  contracts  . 95 

CHAPTER  VIII 

PREPARATION  OF  SEED-BED  AND  PLANTING      .       .       .    103-116 

Effect  of  previous  crop 103 

Reasons  for  plowing 104 

Time  of  plowing 106 

Depth  of  plowing 108 

Final  preparation 110 

The  seed        . 112 

Method  of  planting 114 

The  stand      . 115 

CHAPTER  IX 

CULTURAL  METHODS 117-125 

Thinning 117 

Preparation  for  thinning,  117 

Blocking  and  thinning,  118 

Losses  from  poor  thinning,  121 

Hoeing 122 

Cultivating 123 

CHAPTER  X 

IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINAGE 126-147 

Irrigation 126 

Beets  adapted  to  irrigation  farming,  126 
Sources  of  irrigation  water,  127 
Measurement  of  water,  128 
Preparing  land  for  irrigation,  129 
Methods  of  irrigating  beets,  130 


Contents  xi 


Water  requirements  of  beets,  131 

Time  to  apply  water,  133 

Size  of  irrigation,  136 

Relation  of  irrigation  to  size,  shape,  and  quality  of  beets,  137 

Drainage 144 

Reasons  for  drainage,  144 
Effects  of  drainage,  145 
Kinds  of  drains,  146 
Installing  the  drainage  system,  147 

CHAPTER  XI 

HARVESTING 148-157 

Time  of  harvest 148 

Digging 151 

Topping 152 

Mechanical  harvester 154 

Hauling 155 

Siloing 157 

CHAPTER  XII 

BY-PRODUCTS 158-183 

Sugar-beet  tops 158 

Composition  of  the  tops,  159 

Feeding  and  storing  tops,  161 

Soiling  beet  tops,  163 

Use  of  beet  silage,  166 
Sugar-beet  pulp     .        .        * 168 

Uses  of  beet  pulp,  169 
Waste  sugar-beets  and  root-tips     .....  176 

Sugar-beet  molasses 177 

Waste  lime  and  minor  by-products        ....  181 


xii  Contents 

CHAPTER  XIII 

PAGES 

PESTS  AND  DISEASES 184-204 

Insect  pests 184 

Extent  of  pest  injury,  184 

Preventive  measures  for  controlling  pests,  185 

Blister-beetles,  187 

Army  worms,  187 

The  common  army-worm,  188 

The  fall  army-worm,  189 

Sugar-beet  webworm,  190 

Cutworms,  190 

White  grubs,  191 

Wireworms,  192 

Flea-beetles  and  leaf-beetles,  193 

Grasshoppers,  193 

Beet-root  aphis,  194 

Sugar-beet  nematode,  195 

The  beet  leafhopper,  197 

Disease  injury 198 

Leaf-spot,  199 
Heart-rot,  200 
Sca&,  201 
Soft-rot,  202 
Beet-rust,  202 
Rhizoctonia,  203 
Sugar-beet  mosaic,  203 
Damping-off,  204 

CHAPTER  XIV 

FACTORS  AFFECTING  QUALITY  OF  BEETS  ....    205-212 

What  are  good  beets 205 

Conditions  producing  good  beets 208 


Contents  xiii 

CHAPTER  XV 

PAGES 

PRODUCTION  OF  SUGAR-BEET  SEED 213-230 

Importance  of  good  seed 213 

High  germination 214 

Sources  of  seed 215 

Disadvantages  of  importing  seed 217 

Types  of  beets 219 

Single-germ  seed 220 

Breeding 221 

Chemical  test  of  mothers,  221 

Steps  in  selection,  222 
Commercial  production  of  seed 223 

Siloing,  223 

Planting  mother  beets,  225 

Care  of  seed  crop  during  growth,  226 

Harvesting  and  threshing,  227 

By-products,  228 

Yields  and  profits,  228 

CHAPTER  XVI 

COST  OF  PRODUCING  BEETS      ...<...    231-249 

Need  for  low  cost 231 

Difficulty  of  obtaining  costs 233 

Cost  of  growing  in  various  sections        ....  234 

Relation  of  number  of  acres  raised  to  cost  and  profit    .  237 

Cost  based  on  time 240 

Examples  of  acre-cost            247 

CHAPTER  XVII 

BEET  RAISING  AND  COMMUNITY  WELFARE        .        .        .    250-257 
Stability  to  agriculture          ......  251 

Promotes  good  farming 252 


xiv  Contents 

PAGES 

Increases  crop  yields 253 

Educational  value 254 

Employment  for  children 255 

Winter  employment 255 

Centralized  population 256 

Increases  other  business 256 

National  independence 257 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

SUGAR-MAKING 258-267 

Storing  the  beets   .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  258 

Washing  and  weighing 260 

Slicing  and  extraction 261 

Purification  of  the  juice 262 

Evaporation 263 

Graining 264 

The  Steffen  process 265 

CHAPTER  XIX 

SUGAR-CANE 268-274 

Adaptation 270 

Soils  and  manuring 271 

Cultural  methods  .        .        ...        .        .        .  272 

Harvesting     .        ,        .        .        ,        .        .        .        .  273 

Extraction  of  sugar 274 

CHAPTER  XX 

WORLD'S  USE  AND  SUPPLY  OF  SUGAR      ....    275-293 

Kinds  of  sugar  and  properties 275 

Sugar  in  nature 277 

Sugar  as  a  food .  279 


Contents  xv 

PAGES 

Increase  in  use  of  sugar 283 

Use  in  different  countries 286 

Source  of  supply 289 

Future  use  and  supply 291 

APPENDIX  A 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 295-311 

APPENDIX  B 

AMERICAN    BEET-SUGAR    COMPANIES    AND    FACTORIES, 

JANUARY,  1918 312-319 

APPENDIX  C 

SUGAR  STATISTICS     .       .       .  320-331 


PLATES 

FACING  PAGE 

I.  A  good  field  of  sugar-beets     .        .        .        Frontispiece 

II.    John  Taylor 16 

III.  E.  H.  Dyer 18 

IV.  Mature  beet  plant ;  cross  and  longitudinal  sections      24 
V.  Houses  for  labor ;  pumping  irrigation  water  .        .      46 

VI.    Soils  for  beets 58 

VII.  Soils ;  alfalfa  plowed  under ;  plowing     ...      66 

VIII.  Preparation  and  cultivation  of  land        .        .        .     108 

IX.  Tillage;  a  good  stand  of  beets        .        .        .        .110 

X.  Planting;      cable    machinery;     cultivating    and 

hoeing 114 

XI.  Thinning  beets ;  cultivating  .        .     •  .        .        .118 

XII.     Hoeing  beets ;  irrigating 122 

XIII.  Experiment  tanks;   ditch  machine;   beets  topped     142 

XIV.  Beet  lifter;  topping  beets      .    '    .        .        .        .150 
XV.  Topping ;  silo  in  field ;  rack  for  unloading     .        .     152 

XVI.    Beet  dumps .  154 

XVII.     Bins  in  a  beet  factory 156 

XVIII.    Beet  dump;  sugar  factory 158 

XIX.    Silo  practice 172 

XX.     Feeding  cows  on  by-products ;  feed  yards      .        .176 
XXI.     Sheep  feeding;    injury  by  army-worms;   catching 

grasshoppers        .......  180 

XXII.     Nematode  injury ;  beet  spot 196 

XXIII.     Curly-leaf;  rot  in  storage 200 

XXIV.     Well-shaped  beets ;  poorly  shaped ;  three  types  of 

beets 206 

xvii 


XV111 


Plates 


FACING  PAGE 

XXV.    Pedigreed  beets;    silos  for  mother  beets;    steck- 

linge 220 

XXVI.    Good  crop  of  seed 226 

XXVII.    Diffusion  battery;    carbonation  and  sulfur  tanks  260 

XXVIII.    Filter  presses;  vacuum  pans 262 

XXIX.     Centrifugal  machines ;  sugar  warehouse         .        .  266 

XXX.     Planting  sugar-cane ;  unloading  cane     .        .        .  270 

XXXI.     Vigorous  growth  of  cane ;   sugar-cane  in  Louisiana  272 
XXXII.    Harvesting  cane  with  hand  cutters;   cane  wagons 

in  Cuba  274 


THE  SUGAR-BEET  IN  AMERICA 


THE  SUGAR-BEET  IN  AMERICA 

CHAPTER  I 
GENERAL  VIEW  OF   THE  INDUSTRY 

THE  beet-sugar  industry  in  America  has  but  recently 
passed  out  of  the  experimental  stage.  It  was  undertaken 
nearly  a  century  ago  by  men  who  had  more  enthusiasm 
than  knowledge  concerning  the  raising  of  beets  and  the 
methods  of  extracting  sugar  from  them.  Early  attempts 
to  establish  the  industry  on  the  Western  Hemisphere  were 
not  successful,  partly  because  of  the  lack  of  scientific 
methods  and  partly  because  beet-growing  was  first  tried 
in  unfavorable  localities.  It  also  required  tune  to  train 
farmers  to  grow  beets  and  experts  to  make  beet-sugar. 
Legislation,  also,  has  been  a  factor.  When  regions  well 
adapted  to  beet-culture  were  chosen,  when  farmers  became 
familiar  with  methods  of  raising  beets,  when  methods  of 
extracting  sugar  from  the  beets  were  improved,  and  when 
legislation  was  favorable,  then  was  the  industry  able  to 
establish  itself  and  to  pass  beyond  precarious  infancy. 
This  stage  being  passed,  the  industry  has  now  entered 
the  period  of  vigorous  youth  —  the  time  of  greatest  virility 
and  growth.  The  beet-sugar  industry  is  now  firmly  es- 
tablished in  America ;  it  is  ready  to  take  its  place  in  the 
sisterhood  of  great  American  industries. 

B  1 


2  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

The  key  to  successful  beet-sugar  manufacturing  is  a 
supply  of  good  beets  at  a  reasonable  price.  The  actual 
making  of  sugar  can  be  conducted  about  as  well  in  one 
place  as  in  another  if  the  beets  are  available.  The  growth 
of  the  industry,  therefore,  depends  on  an  extension  of  the 
beet-producing  area  and  on  perfecting  the  methods  of 
growing  beets  in  sections  where  they  are  now  produced. 

Those  persons  familiar  with  the  conditions  necessary 
to  beet  production,  and  those  acquainted  with  American 
geography,  are  convinced  that  only  a  small  part  of  the 
land  well  adapted  to  beets  is  at  present  planted  to  the 
crop.  Figure  1,  which  shows  the  relative  number  of 
sugar  factories  in  Europe  and  in  the  United  States,  in- 
dicates that  in  America  the  area  devoted  to  beets  may 
be  increased  many  times  before  it  will  reach  the  limits 
that  have  been  found  profitable  in  Europe.  Reference  to 
Chapter  IV,  wherein  the  conditions  for  raising  beets  are 
considered  in  detail,  will  show  that  many  parts  of  the 
United  States  are  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  sugar- 
beets.  Now  that  the  industry  is  well  started,  it  seems 
probable  that  it  will  grow  rapidly  in  the  next  few  years. 

This  growth  will  be  fortunate  for  American  agriculture, 
which  needs  stimulation  of  more  intensive  methods.  Ex- 
perience has  shown  that  wherever  a  beet-sugar  factory 
has  been  established  in  a  community,  the  price  of  all 
farming  land  has  risen.  This  has  resulted  not  alone 
because  beets  themselves  make  a  profitable  crop,  but 
because  raising  them  promotes  better  farming  and  con- 
sequently a  higher  return  to  each  acre  of  land.  The  deep 
plowing  and  the  thorough  tillage,  so  indispensable  to  beet- 
culture,  increase  the  yield  of  subsequent  crops  on  the  same 


General  View  of  the  Industry 


Na  of  factories 

Germany  /9/2 tgr*JS4-2 

Ruaia  and  BalXan  5tateiZ—!294 

Austria  Hungary  19/1 201 

France  1911 Z24 

Belgium  19/2 

Netherlands  /9/3 
Denmark  /9> 
Sweden  /9/3 
Italy  19/1  _ 
5 pain  1912 


. 

Michigan- 
Minnesota, 


4  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

land.  The  cost  of  these  tillage  operations  is  met  by  the 
beet  crop,  the  increase  in  yield  of  the  other  crops  usually 
coming  as  a  net  profit. 

Beets  make  an  excellent  crop  to  fit  into  the  rotation. 
On  account  of  the  tillage  required,  they  permit  the  eradi- 
cation of  weeds  that  persist  in  other  crops ;  they  furnish, 
through  their  by-products,  a  large  quantity  of  stock 
feed ;  they  are  deep-rooted,  and  consequently  bring  from 
considerable  depth  plant-food  that  is  later  made  available 
to  shallow-rooted  crops;  the  period  when  work  is  re- 
quired by  beets  fits  well  with  the  raising  of  grain  and 
alfalfa ;  and,  finally,  they  furnish  a  cash  crop,  which  should 
be  found  in  every  rotation.  Because  of  these  conditions, 
beet-raising  is  a  help  to  the  individual  farmer. 

The  community  as  a  whole  is  also  benefited  by  the 
beet-sugar  industry.  Considerable  ready  money  is  thereby 
brought  into  the  region  and  the  farmer  is  enabled  to  know 
before  the  crop  is  planted  that  he  has  a  sure  market  at  a 
definite  price.  This  tends  to  stabilize  all  phases  of  business 
in  the  community;  it  gives  a  standard  market  value  to 
all  land  capable  of  raising  beets  profitably.  The  factory 
furnishes  work  to  farm  hands  who  would  otherwise  be 
idle  in  winter;  boys  and  girls  find  employment  in  the 
beet  fields  when  school  is  not  in  session.  This  employ- 
ment of  the  people  of  the  community  makes  the  industry 
valuable  even  when  direct  profits  of  beet  production  are 
small. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  reason  for  encouraging  the  do- 
mestic production  of  beet-sugar  is  the  greater  national 
independence  that  results  from  having  at  home  a  supply 
of  such  an  important  food.  In  times  of  peace  the  ad- 


General  View  of  the  Industry  5 

vantage  of  this  condition  is  not  strikingly  apparent,  but 
war  forces  the  situation  home. 

Within  the  last  century  the  world's  use  of  sugar  has  in- 
creased from  about  one  million  tons  in  a  year  to  twenty 
million,  an  increase  of  two  thousand  per  cent.  There 
are  many  reasons  for  expecting  this  increase  to  continue 
until  the  world's  requirement  will  be  several  times  what  it 
now  is.  At  present  the  United  States  uses  about  five 
times  as  much  sugar  as  it  produces  from  beets.  It  is 
evident,  therefore,  that  beet-sugar  is  still  only  a  minor 
factor  in  supplying  the  home  demand. 

In  view  of  the  increasing  importance  of  sugar  as  a  food, 
that  great  areas  of  land  in  the  United  States  are  well 
adapted  to  beets,  that  only  a  small  percentage  of  the 
sugar  consumed  in  the  country  is  produced  at  home,  and 
in  view  of  the  many  benefits  of  a  domestic  beet-sugar 
industry,  it  seems  imperative  that  greater  attention  be 
given  to  the  sugar-beet  in  America. 


CHAPTER  II 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  BEET-SUGAR 
INDUSTRY 

THE  beet-sugar  industry  has  grown  in  a  century  from 
nothing  to  its  present  enormous  proportions.  It  is  a 
significant  example  of  the  application  of  science  to  the 
needs  of  mankind.  With  the  demand  for  sugar  exceed- 
ing the  supply  and  increasing  faster  than  could  be  satis- 
fied from  known  sources,  new  and  better  methods  of 
securing  sugar  were  sought.  By  applying  the  principles 
of  plant-breeding  to  the  sugar-beet  —  a  plant  formerly 
having  only  a  low  percentage  of  sugar  —  the  quantity  of 
sugar  that  can  be  extracted  from  a  ton  of  beets  was 
increased  several  fold.  The  same  incentive  has  also  led 
to  the  application  of  the  principles  of  chemistry  and 
physics  to  the  manufacturing  of  sugar.  When  the  in- 
dustry first  began,  beets  low  in  sugar  were  the  only  kind 
obtainable,  and  even  this  little  sugar  had  to  be  extracted 
by  imperfect  processes;  but  as  time  went  on  the  beets 
were  improved  and  the  processes  perfected,  until  at  pres- 
ent sugar  can  be  obtained  from  the  beet  at  a  fraction  of 
the  cost  of  a  hundred  years  ago. 

EARLY  USE   OF  SUGAR 

The  use  of  sugar  as  an  important  food  is  confined  to 
modern  times ;  formerly  it  was  known  only  as  a  medicine 

6 


Development  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  7 

sold  by  apothecaries.  In  ancient  times,  honey  was  the 
chief  source  of  sweet.  This  was  supplemented  by  sweet 
fruits  and  sirups,  but  no  refined  sugar  was  extracted 
from  any  source  to  be  used  as  ordinary  food. 

It  is  not  certain  whether  the  first  sugar  was  obtained 
from  sugar-cane  or  from  the  bamboo,  which  belongs  to 
the  same  family.  Early  Greek  and  Roman  writers  men- 
tion it  as  a  rare  product.  Theophrastus,  in  the  third 
century  B.C.,  refers  to  it  as  honey  which  comes  from  bam- 
boos, and  Pliny  tells  of  sugar  in  Arabia  and  India.  Very 
little  sugar-cane  was  found  in  Bengal  before  the  fifth 
century  A.D.,  but  about  this  time  it  was  introduced  into 
the  Tigris  Valley  and  soon  after  into  the  Euphrates  Val- 
ley. In  627  A.D.  it  was  found  in  Persia  and  carried  west- 
ward. About  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  the  Moors 
carried  it  to  Spain,  this  being  its  first  introduction  into 
Europe.  It  is  known  to  have  been  raised  in  China  at 
an  early  date  and  has  been  grown  there  continuously  ever 
since. 

By  the  tenth  century,  sufficient  sugar  was  produced 
in  the  valleys  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  to  attract 
traders,  and  it  was  sometimes  used  as  food  in  special  feasts. 
It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
however,  when  Queen  Elizabeth  of  England  introduced 
it  into  her  household^  that  sugar  could  be  considered  as 
part  of  the  diet. 

Sugar-cane  went  from  Spain  to  Sicily  and  Cyprus  in 
the  thirteenth  century.  The  King  of  Portugal  in  the 
fifteenth  century  sent  cuttings  from  Sicily  to  Madeira 
and  the  Canary  Islands,  from  where  it  went  to  Brazil 
during  the  early  part  of  the  next  century.  About  the  same 


8  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

time  it  also  became  important  in  the  Island  of  San  Do- 
mingo. By  1518  there  were  twenty-eight  mills  on  this 
island.  It  reached  Mexico  in  1520,  Guadalupe  in  1644, 
and  Martinique  in  1650.  The  first  sugar  mill  in  Cuba  was 
built  in  1547.  Sugar-making  was  brought  to  Louisiana 
in  1751  by  the  Jesuit  fathers,  but  after  about  twenty- 
five  years'  trial  it  was  abandoned,  not  to  be  tried  again 
till  1791.  Thus  with  the  introduction  of  sugar  into  the 
diet  of  the  people  of  Europe,  the  colonies  of  the  European 
countries  furnished  an  abundant  supply.  At  that  time 
the  consumption  was  very  low  compared  with  that  of 
the  present. 

When  sugar  first  became  an  article  of  commerce,  the 
high  price  prohibited  its  general  use.  As  late  as  1482 
it  sold  for  as  much  as  $275  a  hundred  pounds  on  the 
London  market,  although  it  had  been  considerably  cheaper 
a  century  before.  By  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century 
the  price  had  fallen  to  $53  a  hundred  pounds  in  London. 
Competition  became  very  keen  among  the  English, 
Dutch,  French,  and  Portuguese  traders  for  the  sugar  trade 
of  Europe  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Each  country  was  anxious  to  have  its  colonies  furnish  the 
chief  supply  of  sugar,  most  of  which  was  at  that  time  pro- 
duced by  slave  labor. 

*4P 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  BEETS 

The  first  use  of  beets  as  a  cultivated  crop  is  not  known. 
Theophrastus, «MP the  third  century  B.C.,  describes  two 
varieties  of  beets  grown  in  Greece  —  the  deep  red  and  the 
white.  The  barbarians  who  conquered  Rome  carried 


Development  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  9 

beets  back  and  planted  them  in  Bohemia  on  their  return. 
Oliver  de  Serres,  in  1590,  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to 
record  the  sweet  properties  of  the  beet.  He  said  that  "  the 
juice  yielded  on  boiling  is  similar  to  sugar  sirup."  He  be- 
lieved that  alcohol  could  be  made  by  fermenting  the  beet. 
The  red  beet  was  introduced  into  England  in  1548,  but  the 
white  variety  was  unknown  there  until  1570.  Four  varie- 
ties were  known  by  1782,  the  small  and  large  red,  the 
yellow,  and  the  white.  In  1786  Abbe"  Commerel 
published  a  book  on  the  value  of  beets  as  feed  for 
stock. 

Discovery  of  sugar  in  beets. 

Although  De  Serres  had  suggested  the  sweet  properties 
of  beets,  he  did  not  obtain  pur^taur  from  them.  It  was 
left  to  the  German  chemist,  AnolKr  S.  Marggraf,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sciences,  first  to  obtain 
sugar  from  the  beet.  This  he  accomplished  in  1747,  but 
it  was  a  half  century  before  this  discovery  was  put  to  any 
practical  use.  The  methods  used  by  Marggraf  in  extract- 
ing sugar  in  the  laboratory  are  described  as  follows :  "  After 
having  cut  the  beets  into  thin  slices,  he  dried  them  care- 
fully and  reduced  them  to  a  powder.  On  eight  ounces  of 
beet  thus  pulverized,  he  poured  six  ounces  of  alcohol  recti- 
fied as  highly  as  he  could  obtain  it,  and  placed  the  mixture 
over  a  gentle  fire  in  a  sand  bath.  As  soon  as  the  liquid 
came  to  a  boiling  point  he  withdrew  it  from  the  fire  and 
filtered  it  into  a  flagon,  which  he  stoppered  and  left  to  it- 
self. After  some  weeks  he  perceived  that  it  had  formed 
crystals,  which  presented  all  the  physical  and  chemical 
characters  of  the  crystals  of  sugar  from  cane.  The  alcohol 


10  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

which  remained  contained  sugar  in  solution  and  also  a 
resinous  matter  which  he  abstracted  by  evaporation." 

First  commercial  extraction  of  beet-sugar. 

Karl  Franz  Achard,  son  of  a  French  refugee  in  Prussia, 
was  the  first  to  extract  sugar  from  beets  on  a  commer- 
cial scale.  He  had  been  a  student  of  Marggraf,  who  had 
turned  his  attention  to  the  beet  as  a  source  of  sugar. 
After  the  death  of  his  teacher  in  1782,  Achard  devoted 
himself  faithfully  to  perfecting  methods  of  extracting  the 
sugar.  The  laboratory  methods  were  too  expensive  to 
be  used  on  a  large  scale.  In  1797,  after  fifteen  years  of 
work,  he  announced  his  methods,  and  two  years  later 
presented  them  and  samples  of  sugar  to  the  Institute  of 
France.  His  statenxeate  brought  forth  considerable 
ridicule,  but  the  Instiftrfe  was  sufficiently  aroused  to  ap- 
point a  commission  of  nine  leading  scientists  of  France  to 
investigate  the  whole  problem  of  extracting  sugar  from 
beets.  On  January  25,  1800,  the  commission  made  its 
report,  which,  on  the  whole,  was  favorable  to  Achard, 
although  it  doubted  some  of  his  claims. 

In  the  meantime,  the  producers  of  cane-sugar  had  be- 
come alarmed  and  feared  that  some  of  their  profits  might 
be  lost.  It  is  reported  that  in  1796  a  society  in  England 
offered  Achard  $30,000  if  he  would  abandon  his  work 
and  make  the  world  believe  his  attempts  had  not  been  a 
success.  Two  years  later  a  new  offer  of  $120,000  was 
made  and  refused.  An  attempt  was  then  made  to  destroy 
interest  in  beet-sugar  through  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  the 
celebrated  English  chemist.  He  said  that  while  sugar 
could  be  obtained  from  beets,  it  was  too  sour  for  food. 


Development  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  11. 

The  early  work  of  Achard  was  encouraged  by  financial 
assistance  from  Frederick  the  Great,  but  after  his  death 
in  1786  the  work  was  somewhat  interrupted  until  his 
successor,  Frederick  William  III,  came  to  the  rescue. 
Through  the  aid  of  the  latter,  the  first  beet-sugar  factory 
in  the  world  was  built  on  Cunern  Estate,  near  Steinau 
in  Silesia,  in  1799-1801.  In  1802  a  factory  was  built 
near  Paris  for  experimental  purposes.  These  first  fac- 
tories experienced  many  difficulties  in  purifying  the 
sugar.  This,  together  with  the  low  sugar-content  of  the 
beets,  discouraged  all  but  the  most  enthusiastic. 

Assistance  from  Napoleon. 

The  establishing  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  on  a  pay- 
ing basis  really  came  as  an  incident  in  the  wars  of  Napo- 
leon. As  a  measure  against  England  he  established  in 
1806  a  blockade  in  which  any  merchandise  from  England 
and  her  colonies  was  not  allowed  on  the  continent.  This 
cut  off  the  chief  source  of  sugar ;  as  a  result  the  average 
price  from  1807  to  1815  was  thirty  cents  a  pound.  At 
times  it  went  much  higher  than  this.  In  1806  the  French 
Government  offered  a  bounty  on  beet-sugar,  but  it  was 
not  until  1811,  near  Lille,  that  the  first  commercial  fac- 
tory in  France  was  established. 

On  January  12,  1812,  Napoleon  issued  a  decree  pro- 
viding that  one  hundred  select  students  should  be  sent 
from  schools  of  medicine,  pharmacy,  and  chemistry  to 
the  six  special  beet-sugar  schools  that  he  had  established 
the  year  before.  He  also  set  aside  large  tracts  of  land  to 
be  devoted  to  beet-raising  and  compelled  the  peasant 
farmers  to  plant  sugar-beets.  The  decrees  of  Napoleon 


12  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

to  encourage  the  beet-sugar  industry  were  so  liberal  and 
the  price  of  sugar  was  so  high  that  by  1812  forty  factories 
were  in  operation.  These  factories  handled  98,813  tons 
of  beets  produced  on  16,758  acres  and  manufactured  them 
into  3,300,000  pounds  of  sugar.  This  may  be  called  the 
real  beginning  of  the  beet-sugar  industry. 

From  France  the  industry  spread  rapidly  to  the  other 
countries  of  Europe,  especially  to  Germany  and  Russia. 
In  Germany,  Achard  established  a  school  which  was 
attended  by  students  from  all  parts  of  Europe.  These 
students  carried  back  to  their  respective  countries  technical 
information  which,  encouraged  by  the  success  of  the  French 
manufacturers,  led  to  the  establishment  of  many  factories. 

Decline  of  the  industry. 

With  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  in  1815  and  the  return 
of  peace,  the  ports  of  Europe  were  thrown  open  to  the 
cheap  sugar  from  the  colonies.  As  a  result,  the  newly 
established  industry  was  not  able  to  hold  its  own.  The 
quality  of  beets  was  still  poor  and  the  processes  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  sugar  were  so  imperfect  that  it  was 
impossible  to  compete  with  cane-sugar  produced  by 
slave  labor.  Only  one  factory  in  Europe  survived  the 
reconstruction  that  followed  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon. 
This  was  the  factory  of  M.  Crespel  at  Arras,  France. 

Revival  of  the  industry. 

For  some  time  in  France  the  beet-sugar  industry 
fluctuated  according  to  the  laws  that  were  passed.  In  an 
effort  to  revive  beet-sugar  production  during  the  period 
from  1822  to  1825,  over  one  hundred  new  factories  were 


Development  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  13 

built.  The  processes  of  manufacturing  were  improved 
so  greatly  that  5  per  cent  of  sugar  could  be  extracted 
instead  of  2  per  cent,  as  formerly. 

Researches  of  Pelouze  in  1821  led  to  better  methods  of  , 
breeding,  which  made  progress  more  rapid.  By  1836' 
there  were  436  factories  in  operation.  This  alarmed  the 
importers  of  cane-sugar  and  led  to  legislation  which  was 
unfavorable  to  beet-sugar  producers.  This  legislation 
caused  the  abandonment  in  1837  and  1838  of  166  factories. 
In  1840  and  1843  attempts  were  made  by  the  cane-sugar 
interests  to  have  the  government  buy  the  beet-sugar  fac- 
tories and  close  them,  but  this  failed.  In  1847  colonial 
cane-sugar  and  beet-sugar  were  taxed  equally,  which  made 
it  difficult  for  the  beet-sugar  to  compete,  because  the  cane- 
sugar  was  nearly  all  produced  by  cheap  slave  labor.  The 
abolition  of  slavery  in  1848,  however,  helped  the  beet- 
sugar  industry.  From  1851  to  1873  the  making  of  beet- 
sugar  in  France  was  very  spasmodic,  since  it  depended 
almost  entirely  on  the  attitude  of  legislation. 

In  Germany,  where  legislation  was  more  consistent, 
the  industry  grew  slowly  but  surely.  Considerable  atten- 
tion was  given  by  scientists  to  the  improvement  both  of 
the  quality  of  beets  and  of  the  manufacturing  processes. 
In  1836  Germany  had  122  factories  which  used  25,346 
tons  of  beets  and  produced  1408  tons  of  sugar.  The 
average  percentage  of  sugar  extracted  that  year  was  5.5, 
while  in  1886  it  averaged  12.18  per  cent.  The  per  capita 
consumption  of  sugar  in  Germany  was  4.4  pounds  in  1836, 
but  had  risen  to  7.14  pounds  in  1856,  and  in  1906  it  was 
41.08  pounds.  The  factory  price  of  sugar  in  Magdeburg 
fell  from  9.4  cents  a  pound  in  1854  to  4.2  cents  in  1886. 


14 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


FIG.  2.  —  Comparison  of  the  amount  of  beet-sugar  produced  in  Ger- 
many, Austria-Hungary,  France,  United  States,  Russia,  and  Belgium,  in 
different  years. 


Development  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  15 

In  1877  Germany  had  286,000  acres  of  beets,  which 
produced  378,000  tons  of  sugar,  while  in  1886  the  out- 
put of  sugar  was  more  than  1,000,000  tons.  Germany 
did  not  equal  the  sugar  production  of  France  until  1878, 
but  since  that  time  she  has  led  the  world  in  beet-sugar. 
She  produced  2,223,521  tons  of  sugar  in  1906.  The  aver- 
age percentage  extracted  that  year  was  15.69. 

In  other  countries  of  Europe  the  beet-sugar  industry 
followed  rather  closely  the  lead  of  France  and  Germany 
(see  Fig.  2).  At  present  there  are  beet-sugar  factories  in 
all  the  European  countries  except  Norway. 

Ware  l  shows  in  the  following  table  the  relative  impor- 
tance of  the  industry  in  1877-78.  By  this  time  the 
beet-sugar  industry  had  become  thoroughly  established: 


TABLE  I.  —  NUMBER  OF  SUGAR  FACTORIES  IN  EUROPE,  IN 
1877-78,  WITH  THE  TOTAL  PRODUCTION  AND  THE  PER 
CAPITA  CONSUMPTION  OP  SUGAR  IN  EACH  COUNTRY 


COUNTRIES 

KILOGRAMS  PRO- 
DUCED 1877-78 

APPROXIMATE  CON- 
SUMPTION PER 
CAPITA,  KILOGRAMS 

FACTORIES 
EXISTING 

Germany  .... 

375,000,000 

6 

330 

France       .... 

325,000,000 

9 

513 

Austria-Hungary    . 

245,000,000 

2 

248 

Russia  ....    1 
Poland      .     .     .    / 

250,000,000 

2 

288 

Belgium    .... 

50,000,000 

6 

153 

Holland     ...    1 

Sweden     .     .     .     > 

25,000,000 

8 

42 

Denmark  .     .     .    J 

Ware,  L.  S.,  "The  Sugar  Beet,"  p.  40  (1880). 


16  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

THE  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

The  first  effort  to  grow  sugar-beets  in  the  United 
States  was  made  about  1830  at  Ensfield  near  Philadelphia. 
In  1836  a  number  of  citizens  of  Philadelphia  became  in- 
terested in  sugar-beet  culture  and  sent  James  Pedder  to 
France  to  study  the  business.  A  company  known  as 
"The  Beet  Sugar  Society  of  Philadelphia"  was  organized 
with  James  Donaldson,  the  chief  promoter,  as  president. 
Pedder  sent  home  about  600  pounds  of  seed  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  farmers  for  trial.  No  evidence  is 
available  that  a  factory  resulted  from  this  effort. 

The  first  factory  was  erected  at  Northampton,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1838,  by  David  Lee  Child,  assisted  by  Edward 
Church  and  Maximin  Isnard,  who  had  played  an  impor- 
tant part  in  establishing  the  industry  in  France  and  who 
was  at  this  time  French  vice-consul  at  Boston.  The  seed 
was  imported  from  France.  It  gave  a  satisfactory  yield 
—  from  thirteen  to  fifteen  tons  to  the  acre  —  but  the 
beets  were  low  in  sugar.  In  1839,  1300  pounds  of  sugar 
were  produced  and  several  prizes  were  taken.  The  in- 
dustry could  not  be  made  to  pay  under  the  circumstances, 
and  the  factory  never  ran  after  1840. 

Soon  after  the  settlement  of  Utah,  in  1847,  the  Mor- 
mon pioneers  began  to  establish  different  home  indus- 
tries in  order  to  make  themselves  as  industrially  inde- 
pendent as  possible.  Since  at  this  time  all  manufactured 
goods  had  to  be  hauled  from  the  Missouri  River  to  Salt 
Lake  City  by  team,  sugar  was  worth  from  forty  cents  to 
one  dollar  a  pound.  John  Taylor  (Plate  II),  who  was 
laboring  as  a  missionary  in  France,  studied  the  beet-sugar 


PLATE  II. 

John  Taylor,  who  introduced  the  beet-sugar  industry  into  Utah  in  1852. 
(Courtesy  of  Frank  Y.  Taylor.) 


Development  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  17 

industry,  and  in  1852  purchased  from  Faucett,  Preston, 
and  Company  of  Liverpool,  for  $12,500,  a  complete  outfit 
of  machinery  for  making  beet-sugar.  This  arrived  at 
New  Orleans  in  April,  1852,  from  where  it  was  taken  on 
another  boat  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas.  It  took 
fifty-two  ox  teams  four  months  to  haul  the  machinery 
from  Fort  Leavenworth  to  Provo,  Utah,  where  it  had 
been  decided  to  erect  the  factory.  Five  hundred  bushels 
of  beet  seed  came  with  the  machinery.  The  Deseret 
Manufacturing  Company,  the  corporation  that  was  pro- 
moting the  industry,  was  unable  to  carry  it  on  because 
of  the  many  unexpected  expenses.  The  machinery  was, 
therefore,  purchased  by  the  Mormon  Church  and  moved 
to  Salt  Lake  City,  where  it  was  installed  in  an  adobe  build- 
ing at  Sugar  House  Ward,  where  additional  machinery  was 
received  in  1853.  On  account  of  the  difficulty  that  was 
experienced  in  getting  sugar  to  crystallize,  sirup  only 
was  made  and  the  project  was  finally  abandoned  in  1855. 
In  1864  the  Gennett  Brothers,  Germans  living  in  New 
York,  became  interested  in  the  beet-sugar  industry.  One 
of  them  went  to  Europe  to  study  the  conditions  on  that 
continent.  On  his  return,  2300  acres  of  prairie  land 
were  purchased  at  Chatsworth,  Illinois,  and  the  Germania 
Beet  Sugar  Company  was  organized  with  a  capital  of 
$200,000.  The  mill  had  a  capacity  of  fifty  tons  a  day, 
but  it  was  able  to  extract  only  a  small  part  of  the  sugar 
from  the  beets.  In  1866,  4000  tons  of  beets  were  raised 
on  400  acres.  A  series  of  unfavorable  years  induced  the 
company  to  move  the  plant,  first  to  Freeport,  Illinois, 
and  later  to  Black  Hawk,  Wisconsin,  but  it  was  never  a 
success.  Some  of  the  machinery  was  finally  taken  to 


18  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

California.  Failure  was  due  in  part  at  least  to  a  lack  of 
interest  on  the  part  of  farmers  in  raising  beets. 

Two  Germans,  by  the  name  of  Otto  and  Bonestell,  erected 
a  plant  of  ten  tons  daily  capacity  at  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis- 
consin, in  1868.  After  two  years  of  partial  success,  the 
enterprise  was  abandoned.  Otto  went  to  Alvarado, 
California,  in  1870  and  associated  himself  with  Klineau 
and  E.  H.  Dyer,  who  the  year  before  had  raised  150  acres 
of  beets  as  an  experiment.  The  $125,000  factory  which 
they  erected  produced  250  tons  of  sugar  in  1870,  400  tons 
in  1871,  560  tons  in  1872,  and  750  tons  in  1873.  The 
average  cost  of  producing  sugar  was  about  ten  cents  a 
pound.  The  plant  did  not  pay  and  later  was  moved  to 
Santa  Cruz  County.  In  1871  the  Sacramento  Beet 
Sugar  Company  began  the  operation  of  a  small  plant.  It 
made  sugar  and  molasses  for  several  years  and  was  finally 
sold  to  E.  H.  Dyer.  This  was  the  first  plant  in  the 
country  to  use  the  diffusion  battery  system  of  extracting 
the  juice. 

Other  unsuccessful  attempts  to  establish  the  industry 
were  made  at  Portland,  Maine  (1896),  Edgemoor,  Dela- 
ware (1877),  Franklin,  Massachusetts  (1879),  and  Rio 
Grande,  New  Jersey  (1879).  These  failures  were  due  to 
various  causes:  (1)  lack  of  experienced  beet-raisers,  (2) 
poor  quality  of  beets,  (3)  imperfect  machinery,  (4)  mis- 
takes in  locating  factories,  and  (5)  general  lack  of  interest 
in  the  industry. 

Commercial  success  in  the  United  States. 
The  successful  commercial  production  of  beet-sugar  in 
the  United  States  may  be  said  to  date  from  about  1890. 


PLATE  III. 

E.  IT.  Dyer,  father  of  the  American  beet-sugar  industry. 
(Courtesy  of  E.  F.  Dyer.) 


Development  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  19 

Previous  to  this  time,  E.  H.  Dyer  (Plate  III),  after  years  of 
experimentation  and  after  four  complete  financial  failures 
and  reorganizations,  succeeded  at  Alvarado,  California,  in 
establishing  a  factory  on  a  paying  basis,  in  1879.  This 
was  the  first  beet-sugar  factory  that  had  been  made  to 
pay  in  the  United  States.  In  1888,  Claus  Spreckels  built 
at  Watsonville,  California,  a  factory  which  the  first  year 
made  1000  tons  of  sugar.  Thus,  in  1889  there  were  but 
two  beet-sugar  factories  operating  in  the  United  States, 
both  in  central  California. 

About  this  time  the  Oxnard  Brothers  interested  them- 
selves in  the  industry.  They  went  to  Europe  and  made 
a  careful  study  of  it  there.  In  1890,  they  built  a  factory 
at  Grand  Island,  Nebraska,  and  in  1891  one  each  at 
Norfolk,  Nebraska,  and  at  Chino,  California.  This 
served  to  arouse  interest  in  the  industry  over  a  wider 
section  of  the  country.  In  the  intermountain  region  a 
factory  was  established  at  Lehi,  Utah, 

From  this  time  on,  the  growth  of  the  industry  has  been 
constant  and  at  times  rapid,  stimulated  largely  by  favor- 
able legislation.  The  Sugar  Bounty  Act  of  1890,  on 
which  McKinley  worked,  gave  two  cents  a  pound  bounty 
on  domestic  beet-sugar.  This  was  to  run  fifteen  years 
(1890-1905),  but  in  1894  it  was  repealed  and  the  Wilson 
Act,  which  was  not  so  favorable  to  the  industry,  was 
enacted.  "Development  was  more  rapid  following  the 
passage  of  the  Dingley  Act  of  1897,  according  to  which 
imported  sugars  were  taxed  as  follows:  refined  sugar, 
$1.95  per  100  pounds;  96°  sugar,  $1.68  per  100  pounds, 
with  a  reduction  of  3^  cents  for  each  degree  below  96 
and  an  increase  of  3|  cents  for  each  degree  above  96. 


20 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


During   1899  fourteen  new  factories  were  constructed." 
In  1892  there  were  only  a  half  dozen  factories  with  an 


18- 


16- 

t 

14-  |  H 


32- 


'4- 


|  io-| 


8-1 


6- 


4*£ 


1- 


2- 


0- 


/ 


Acres  beefs  harvested- 
Y/e/<ds  /yer  acre 


1904     1906     1908     1910     1912    -1914    \1916 


-11 

-10 

-9 

-8 

-7 

-6 

-5 

-4 

-3 
-2 

1 


FIG.  3.  —  Growth  of  the  beet-sugar  industry,  with  the  yield  and  quality 
of  beets,  in  the  United  States  since  1899. 


output  of  13,000  tons  of  sugar,  but  by  1902  there  were 
forty-one  factories,  yielding  2,118,406  tons. 


Development  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  21 

Later  developments. 

Since  1890,  growth  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  has  in  the 
main  been  regular  and  constant  (Fig.  3).  During  periods 
when  legislation  has  been  favorable  it  has  been  more 
rapid  than  at  other  times.  This  has  been  the  history  of 
the  beet-sugar  industry  the  world  over.  In  1912,  seventy- 
seven  factories  operated  in  the  United  States,  and  by  1915 
the  number  had  increased  only  to  seventy-nine.  This 
slowness  in  factory  building  was  caused  largely  by  the 
uncertain  effect  on  the  industry  of  reducing  the  tariff 
on  imported  cane-sugar.  The  passage  of  the  Underwood- 
Simmons  Tariff  Bill  reduced  the  tariff  on  imported  sugar 
25  per  cent  after  March  1,  1914,  and  provided  that  all 
the  duty  should  be  removed  after  May  1,  1916.  The 
latter  provision  was,  however,  amended  before  it  went 
into  effect. 

The  retention  of  the  tariff,  taken  with  the  effect  of  the 
European  war,  greatly  stimulated  the  erection  of  sugar 
factories  in  1916  and  1917.  In  1917,  fourteen  factories, 
with  a  daily  slicing  capacity  of  11,000  tons  of  beets,  were 
erected  in  the  United  States.  The  high  price  of  sugar 
resulting  from  the  war  also  made  it  possible  to  pay  farm- 
ers more  for  beets.  This  in  turn  greatly  stimulated  the 
raising  of  beets,  —  and  the  acreage  of  beets  rather  than 
the  number  of  factories  is  the  real  limiting  factor  deter- 
mining the  sugar  production  in  America. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  SUGAR-BEET  PLANT 

IT  is  through  the  remarkable  organizing  capacity  of 
the  sugar-beet  plant  that  nature  is  able  to  take  unusable 
substances  and  by  combining  them  properly  produce  the 
useful  product,  sugar.  The  whole  beet-sugar  industry 
rests  on  giving  to  this  plant  the  conditions  necessary  to 
do  its  work  most  effectively;  then  after  it  has  produced 
and  stored  its  precious  nectar,  to  extract  and  prepare  it 
for  the  use  of  man.  The  important  agent  in  the  whole 
process  is  the  plant  —  the  greatest  of  nature's  laboratories. 

BOTANICAL  GROUP 

The  sugar-beet  belongs  to  the  goosefoot  family,  or 
Chenopodiaceae.  The  chief  cultivated  members  of  this 
family  are  beets  and  spinach.  Many  weeds  belong  to 
the  family,  among  which  are  goosefoot,  pigweed,  lamb's 
quarter,  Russian  thistle. 

The  species  Beta  vulgaris  includes  sugar-beets,  mangel 
wurzels,  common  garden  beets,  and  leaf-beets.  There  is 
a  wild  form  of  the  same  genus  (Beta  maritima)  which 
grows  as  a  perennial. along  the  coast  of  southern  Europe. 
The  cultivated  forms  of  Beta  are  thought  by  some  to 
have  originated  from  "a  variety  growing  wild  on  the 
western  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  and  on  the  Canary 
Islands,  and  known  as  Beta  vulgaris  L.,  var.  maritima  Koch. 

22 


The  Sugar-Beet  Plant  23 

Whether  this  plant  is  really  distinct,  or  is  itself  a  variety 
of  Beta  maritima,  is  not  certain."  l  Those  who  hold 
that  the  cultivated  forms  and  the  wild  coast  plant  are  the 
same  species,  use  the  name  Beta  vulgaris  (which  is  the 
older)  for  the  entire  group.  Those  who  prefer  to  keep 
them  botanically  separate,  use  the  names  B.  vulgaris  for 
the  cultivated  plant  and  B.  maritima  for  the  wild  Beta. 

HABIT   OF   GROWTH 

The  sugar-beet  is  ordinarily  a  biennial,  storing  food  in 
the  root  during  the  first  year,  and  sending  up  seed  stalks 
the  second.  In  some  climates  there  is  a  tendency  for 
many  plants  to  produce  seed  the  first  year,  particularly 
if  there  has  been  a  period  of  drought  or  other  conditions 
causing  a  temporary  rest  in  the  growth  of  the  plant.  The 
plant  may  also  live  and  produce  seed  during  a  number  of 
successive  years  if  it  is  kept  alive  during  the  winter. 

Many  beet  plants  do  not  produce  seed  even  during  the 
second  year  but  continue  throughout  the  season  to  send 
out  an  abundant  growth  of  foliage  without  sending  up 
root-stalks.  This  condition  is  probably  due,  in  part  at 
least,  to  environmental  facts,  since  the  percentage  of 
beets  failing  to  produce  seed  varies  greatly  during  differ- 
ent seasons.  Some  years  this  lack  of  fruiting  is  rather 
serious  in  fields  producing  beet  seed. 

The  Beta  maritima,  in  its  native  habitat  along  the 
Mediterranean,  completes  its  cycle  of  growth  in  one  year. 
The  self-planted  seed  germinates  in  the  fall  and  produces 
considerable  growth  before  its  activity  is  reduced  by  the 

1  Percival,  "  Agricultural  Botany,"  p.  352. 


24 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


mild  winter.    In  the  spring  growth  is  resumed,  and  by 
early  autumn  the  seed  is  ripe  and  again  ready  for  planting. 


PARTS  OF  THE  PLANT 


The  enlarged  root  is  the  predominating  part  of  the  beet 
plant.    The  first  year  the  stem  consists  of  the  crown  on 


B4DAY5 
AFTERPIANTMG 


FiQ.  4.  —  The  sugar-beet  has  a  very  extensive  root  system. 

top  of  the  root  from  which  the  leaves  spring.  It  is  very 
much  shortened  and  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the 
fleshy  root.  The  second  year  seed-stalks  are  sent  up  two 


I  1        \1 

\\\^   }  V 


PLATE  TV.  —  Above  a  mature  sugar-beet  plant  two  years  old,  showing 
the  method  of  growth  of  seed  stalks  ;  below,  cross  and  longitudinal  sections 
of  sugar-beets  f  the  cells  of  the  dark  rings  are  richer  in  sugar  than  those 
of  the  light  ones. 


The  Sugar-Beet  Plant  25 

to  four  feet  tall.  They  bear  the  flowers  and  seeds  and 
most  of  the  leaves.  The  first  year  the  leaves  are  large  and 
usually  erect,  although  they  sometimes  form  a  sort  of 
rosette  on  the  ground.  This  varies  with  the  strain  of 
beet  and  also  with  the  conditions  of  growth.  The  weight 
of  the  leaves  is  about  one-half  that  of  the  root.  The  pro- 
portion of  leaves  is  greater  for  small  than  for  large  beets. 
The  leaves  on  the  seed-stalk  the  second  year  are  much 
smaller  than  those  growing  from  the  beet  crown  the  first 
year. 

The  fleshy  root  (Fig.  4)  is  an  enlarged  taproot,  thickest 
just  below  the  crown  and  gradually  tapering  into  a  slender 
root  which  may  extend  several  feet  into  the  soil.  Branch- 
ing from  the  taproot  are  numerous  secondary  roots, that 
extend  as  feeders  throughout  the  soil.  These  secondary 
roots  are  clustered  in  two  rows  extending  down  the  beet 
usually  in  a  spiral  direction,  although  frequently  straight. 
The  upper  six  or  eight  inches  of  the  old  beet  are  almost 
free  from  the  secondary  roots.  One  examination  showed 
the  greatest  branching  between  eight  and  fourteen  inches 
in  depth.  Attached  to  the  secondary  roots  are  number- 
less root-hairs  which  absorb  water  and  plant-food  from 
the  soil. 

The  beet  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  concentric  rings  of 
alternating  lighter  and  darker  color  shown  in  Plate  IV. 
These  rings  are  composed  of  two  kinds  of  parenchyma 
cells,  the  ones  with  a  denser  finer  structure  being  richer  in 
sugar  and  dry  matter.  The  larger  coarser  cells  are  richer 
in  water.  For  this  reason,  beets  with  a  larger  number  of 
small  compact  cells  are  richer  in  sugar  than  those  in  which 
the  larger  water-storage  cells  predominate.  Although 


26  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

small  differences  in  sugar-content  cannot  be  distinguished 
by  an  anatomical  examination,  there  is  a  rather  definite 
correlation  between  structure  of  the  beet  and  sugar-con- 
tent. 

HOW  THE   PLANT  FEEDS  AND  GROWS 

The  development  of  the  plant  from  a  tiny  germ  through 
the  various  stages  to  maturity  is  an  interesting  and 
complex  process.  When  the  seed  is  planted,  it  absorbs 
moisture  and  swells.  Part  of  the  starch  stored  in  the  seed 
is  changed  into  sugar  by  the  action  of  enzymes,  and  the 
cells  composing  the  germ  enlarge  and  divide  till  the  germ 
becomes  a  seedling.  At  first  the  germ  must  depend  en- 
tirely on  the  food  stored  in  the  seed,  but  a  few  days  after 
germination  the  rootlets  penetrate  into  the  soil  and  leaves 
appear  above  ground.  The  plant  is  now  ready  to  begin 
gathering  and  making  its  own  food. 

The  feeding  of  the  plant  goes  on  in  two  distinct  pro- 
cesses :  the  gathering  of  solublf  '  *j  and  water  from  the 
soil  and  the  taking  of  carbon  ^e  air  through  the 

leaves.  After  these  two  kin  or  raw  materials  are 
gathered,  the  plant  in  the  wonderful  laboratory  of  its 
own  cells  produces  all  the  compounds  necessary  to  its 
life  and  to  the  performance  of  its  very  complex  functions. 

From  the  soil  the  plant  absorbs  various  materials  that 
are  dissolved  in  the  soil  solution.  V  The  materials  like 
nitrogen  that  are  used  extensively  by  the  plant  are  ab- 
sorbed in  much  larger  quantities  than  such  unnecessary 
elements  as  sodium.  These  materials  must  be  dissolved 
before  they  can  be  taken  up  by  the  plant.  The  root- 
hairs,  which  are  minute,  single-cell  extensions  of  the  root 


The  Sugar-Beet  Plant 


27 


system,  reach  to  all  parts  of  the  soil  and  come  in  close 
contact  with  the  individual  soil  particles.  (Fig.  5.) 

By  a  process  known  as  osmosis,  water  passes  from  the 
soil  through  the  cell-wall  of  the  root-hairs  into  the  root, 
and  finally  from  cell  to  cell  throughout  the  plant  wherever 
it  is  needed,  or  it  may  pass  directly  to  the  leaves  where  it 
is  lost  by  tran- 
spiration. Each 
day  during 
rapid  growth, 
the  plant  in 
this  way  takes 
up  and  loses 
several  times 
as  much  water 
as  its  weight. 
Water  is  used 

as  a  carrier  of    FIG.  5.  —  Root-hair  extending  through  the  soil  in 

all  foods  within  contact  with  the  soil  particle8' 

the  plant.  It  also  heBps  in  regulating  the  plant  as 
well  as  entering  into  miny  of  the  compounds  of  which 
it  is  made  up.  More  than  half  of  the  weight  of  sugar 
comes  from  water  which  is  combined  chemically  with 
carbon. 

The  mineral  compounds  which  the  plant  obtains  from 
the  soil  are :  the  salts  of  calcium,  magnesium,  potassium, 
iron,  phosphorus,  sulfur,  and  nitrogen.  These,  together 
with  hydrogen  and  oxygen  from  water  and  carbon  from 
the  air,  make  up  the  ten  elements  essential  to  the  life  of 
all  ordinary  plants.  If  any  of  these  are  entirely  absent, 
the  plant  cannot  grow.  Many  other  elements  are  also 


28  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

taken  up  by  plants,  but  while  they  may  be  used  in  various 
plant  processes,  they  are  not  essential  to  growth. 

These  various  soil  compounds  are  also  taken  up  by 
osmosis,  each  one  independent  of  the  other.  If  the  plant- 
cells  are  low  in  one  of  the  required  substances  that  are 
present  in  the  soil  solution,  it  passes  through  the  cell- 
wall  of  the  root-hairs  and  from  cell  to  cell  to  the  place 
where  needed.  The  movement  continues  as  long  as  the 
compound  is  used  by  the  plant  if  the  supply  in  the  soil 
is  maintained.  If  this  supply  becomes  depleted,  the 
growth  of  the  entire  plant  is  retarded  by  a  shortage  of 
this  one  element.  This  explains  the  importance  of  keep- 
ing the  soil  well  supplied  with  all  the  necessary  plant- 
foods. 

The  processes  taking  place  in  the  leaves  are  even  more 
interesting.  The  leaf  is  made  up  of  layers  of  cells  of 
various  kinds.  On  the  surface  of  the  leaf  are  tiny  open- 
ings called  stomata  through  which  air  and  other  gases 
pass  freely.  These  stomata  are  much  more  numerous  on 
the  under  side  of  the  leaf.  The  air,  containing  carbon- 
dioxid  gas,  enters  the  leaf  through  the  stomata  and 
circulates  between  the  loose  sponge  cells,  where  a  trans- 
formation takes  place.  The  cells  of  the  leaf  contain 
chlorophyll,  or  leaf  green,  which,  through  the  action  of 
sunlight,  is  able  to  cause  a  union  of  carbon  dioxid  and 
water  with  the  final  formation  of  sugar.  By  this  process 
the  greater  part  of  the  plant  material  is  made.  In  this 
laboratory  the  food  of  man  and  beast  is  prepared.  If  a 
process  similar  to  this  did  not  take  place  in  plants,  it 
would  be  only  a  short  time  till  practically  all  animal  and 
plant  life  would  disappear. 


The  Sugar-Beet  Plant  29 

After  the  sugar  is  made  in  the  leaves,  it  is  transferred 
from  cell  to  cell  to  all  parts  of  the  plant,  where  it  is  used 
in  the  formation  of  starch,  cellulose,  and  the  other  com- 
pounds. Thus  the  greater  part  of  all  plants  comes  from 
water  and  the  air  and  only  a  comparatively  small  amount 
from  the  soil.  An  especially  large  part  of  the  sugar-beet 
is  made  of  air  and  water.  As  the  leaves  grow  older,  the 
percentage  of  ash  in  them  increases  and  the  nitrogen  de- 
creases. The  old  practice  of  stripping  part  of  the  leaves 
from  the  beets  is  harmful,  since  it  reduces  the  formation 
of  sugar. 

THE   STORAGE  OF  SUGAR 

Although  the  sugar-beet  plant  begins  the  manufacture 
of  sugar  and  other  compounds  almost  as  soon  as  the  first 
leaves  are  formed,  very  little  material  is  stored  at  this 
time,  since  all  the  food  gathered  is  needed  for  growth. 
The  plant  is-  adding  to  itself  rapidly  and  is  sending  out 
new  roots  and  leaves;  hence  none  of  the  sugar  manu- 
factured in  the  leaves  is  available  for  storage.  It  goes 
into  the  production  of  more  leaves  and  roots  and  to  the 
general  growth  of  the  plant. 

After  the  sugar-beet  has  produced  most  of  its  growth 
and  approaches  maturity,  it  stores  sugar  very  rapidly. 
Practically  all  the  sugar  manufactured  by  the  leaves  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  season  is  stored  in  the  root  in 
order  that  the  plant  may  use  it  the  next  year  in  produc- 
ing seed.  The  storage  is  not  uniform  in  the  various  parts 
of  the  root.  This  is  shown  in  Fig.  6,  which  was  taken  from 
analyses  reported  by  Briem.1  This  drawing  shows  that 
1  '*  American  Sugar  Beet  Growers'  Annual,"  1908,  p.  67. 


30 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


the  beet  is  richest  in  sugar  slightly  above  the  middle  of 
the  beet  and  that  the  sugar  decreases  toward  the  two  ends. 
The  tip  of  the  root  is  lower  in  sugar  than  any  other  part 
except  the  center  of  the  crown. 
The  section  of  the  beet  down  through 
the  center  has  appreciably  less  sugar 
than  the  section  directly  opposite 
toward  the  outside.  The  part  of 
the  beet  lowest  in  sugar  has  only 
about  two-thirds  as  much  as  the 
highest. 

The  ideal  condition  would  be  to 
leave  all  the  beets  in  the  ground 
till  completely  ripe,  which  is  the 
time  when  the  highest  percentage 
of  sugar  is  stored.  This  is  not 
always  practical,  however,  when  a 
large  acreage  must  be  harvested. 
Some  of  the  beets  must  be  dug  be- 
fore they  are  entirely  ready,  and 
the  digging  season  must  be  ex- 

tended  bey°nd  the  best  time  in 

order  to  harvest  all  the  crop.  After 
sugar  has  been  stored  in  the  beets, 
it  may  again  be  transferred  to  other  parts  and  used.  This 
storage  and  later  transfer  of  sugar  are  dependent  largely  on 
soil  and  climatic  conditions.  The  storage  of  a  high  per- 
centage of  sugar  in  the  root  while  the  leaves  are  com- 
paratively low  in  sugar  is  made  possible  by  the  fact  that 
sucrose  diffuses  out  of  the  cells  with  difficulty,  whereas 
the  glucose  and  fructose  of  the  leaves  move  rapidly  from 


sugar  in  different  parts 


The  Sugar-Beet  Plant  31 

cell  to  cell  and  are  distributed  independent  of  the  amount 
of  sucrose  present. 


FACTORS  AFFECTING  PERCENTAGE  OF  SUGAR 

The  amount  of  sugar  contained  in  the  beet  is  of  the 
highest  importance  to  the  manufacturer  of  beet-sugar. 
The  same  expense  is  attached  to  handling  the  beets  and 
running  them  through  the  mill  if  they  contain  10  per  cent 
sugar  as  if  they  contain  20  per  cent.  The  expense  of 
refining  and  handling  the  larger  quantity  of  sugar  is  only 
slightly  greater  in  the  latter  case,  whereas  the  returns 
would  be  almost  double.  Beets  low  in  sugar  cannot  be 
handled  at  a  profit ;  the  life  of  the  industry  depends  on 
getting  roots  sufficiently  rich  in  sugar  to  justify  its  ex- 
traction. 

A  number  of  factors  modify  the  amount  of  sugar  pres- 
ent. Probably  the  most  important  of  these  is  the  breed- 
ing, or  heredity,  of  the  strain.  When  Marggraf  first  ex- 
tracted sugar  from  beets  in  1747  the  amount  of  sugar 
contained  was  low,  but  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  care- 
ful breeding  has  increased  the  amount  by  several  times. 
One  reason  why  the  beet-sugar  industry  was  not  able  to 
continue  after  protection  was  removed  following  the 
downfall  of  Napoleon  was  that  strains  of  beets  were  not 
available  with  a  sufficiently  high  sugar-content.  Only 
after  better  varieties  were  developed  in  Germany  was  it 
possible  to  extract  sugar  from  the  beet  at  a  profit. 

The  commercial  strains  now  on  the  market  differ  widely 
in  the  amount  of  sugar  they  produce  under  the  same 
climatic  and  soil  conditions.  It  is  necessary  to  continue 


32  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

a  rigid  selection  in  order  to  keep  the  beets  up  to  as  high 
a  production  of  sugar  as  possible.  With  no  crop  are  the 
requirements  more  exacting. 

Climatic  conditions  affect  very  much  the  amount  of 
sugar  stored  in  beets.  Seed  out  of  the  same  bag  may  one 
year  produce  beets  having  but  14  per  cent  sugar,  and 
another  year  18  per  cent.  Some  of  the  factors  entering 
into  seasonal  effects  may  be  controlled ;  others  cannot. 
Moisture,  which  greatly  affects  not  only  the  yield  but  also 
the  quality  of  the  beets,  may  be  controlled  by  irrigation. 
This  is  discussed  more  fully  in  Chapter  X. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  point  out  correla- 
tions between  the  shape  of  beet  and  its  sugar-content, 
but  these  have  not  been  very  successful.  If  there  were 
correlations  of  this  kind  it  would  save  a  great  deal  of 
chemical  work  in  selecting  beets  with  a  high  sugar-content. 

RELATION  OF  SIZE  OF  BEET  TO  SUGAR-CONTENT 

The  relation  between  size  and  percentage  of  sugar  has 
long  been  a  subject  of  study.  Observations  have  shown 
that  often  very  large  beets  are  low  in  sugar  and  the  small 
ones  high.  In  order  to  determine  the  exact  correlation 
between  these  two  factors  the  Utah  Experiment  Station 1 
made  tests  extending  over  several  years  and  including 
nearly  seven  thousand  individual  beets.  The  results  of 
that  test  are  summarized  in  Table  II,  which  shows  the 
number  of  beets  of  each  weight  and  sugar-content.  A 
definite  negative  correlation  is  shown,  although  it  is  not 

1  Harris,  F.  S.,  and  Hogenson,  J.  C.,  "Some  Correlations  in 
Sugar-Beets,"  Genetics,  Vol.  I,  July,  1916,  pp.  334-347. 


The  Sugar-Beet  Plant 


33 


rH    rH  <N     O     1-H     rH     O 


rH    C<J   00   CO 


D     >Q 

OD      rH 


W         0 
£         « 


CO    C<1    »O  t>«    CO    rH 


fe      2q 


s  , 


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N 


34  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

large.  This  means  that,  while  there  is  a  tendency  of  the 
large  beets  to  be  low  in  sugar  and  the  small  ones  to  be 
high,  this  relation  does  not  always  hold.  In  some  dis- 
tricts large  beets  may  have  a  very  satisfactory  sugar- 
content,  whereas  in  others  this  may  not  be  the  case. 

FLOWERS  AND  SEEDS 

The  sugar-beet  produces  perfect  flowers.  The  arrange- 
ment of  parts  is  shown  in  Fig.  7.  The  stamens  are  partly 
attached  to  the  perianth-  ring.  Pollen  is  readily  carried 


Fio.  7.  —  Diagrams  showing  parts  of  the  sugar-beet  flower.  Much 
enlarged. 

from  flower  to  flower  by  insects,  thrips  playing  an  im- 
portant part  in  cross  fertilization.  The  ovary  is  par- 
tially imbedded  in  the  flesh  of  the  receptacle  and  con- 
tains from  one  to  three  seeds.  The  flowers  are  produced 
in  dense  clusters  along  an  axis,  resulting  in  the  forma- 
tion of  seed-balls  containing  a  number  of  seeds  or  germs. 
Much  extra  work  is  required  by  this  arrangement,  since 


The  Sugar-Beet  Plant  35 

hand  thinning  is  made  necessary.  If  but  one  germ  were 
contained  in  each  seed-ball,  the  work  of  thinning  would 
be  greatly  reduced.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  pro- 
duce strains  of  seed  having  a  single  germ,  but  these  have 
not  proved  to  be  successful.  The  seed-ball  is  hard,  similar 
to  the  shell  of  a  nut,  and  completely  covers  the  tiny  seeds 
it  holds. 

In  germination  the  primary  root  first  appears.  Very 
soon  the  cotyledons  may  be  seen.  The  seedling  consists 
of  a  short  hypocotyl,  two  fleshy  cotyledons,  and  a  primary 
root  from  which  a  few  fibrous  laterals  arise. 


CHAPTER  IV 


CONDITIONS  FOR   GROWING  SUGAR-BEETS 

PROBABLY  no  other  common  ci;op  should  be  more 
closely  confined  to  regions  adapted  to  its  growth  than 
should  sugar-beets.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  great 
expense  required  to  raise  an  acre  of  beets,  and  where 
natural  conditions  are  unfavorable,  the  returns  for  this 
expense  and  labor  are  small.  Another  important  item  to 
be  considered  is  that  sugar-beets  are  not  raised  by  iso- 
lated farmers;  there  must  be  a  sufficient  number  of 
beets  in  a  region  to  justify  the  erection  of  a  factory. 
Thus,  a  large  amount  of  capital  is  tied  up  in  a  manufac- 
turing plant/  This  will  be  wasted  if  beets  cannot  be 
raised  successfully. 

In  raising  a  crop  like  potatoes,  adaptation  is  not  so  im- 
portant. The  individual  farmer  may  raise  a  few  potatoes 
for  his  own  use  even  though  the  country  is  not  well  adapted 
to  potato-growing.  If  at  any  time  he  wishes  to  raise  some 
other  crop,  he  is  perfectly  free  to  change  and  no  one  is 
injured.  With  sugar-beets,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
may  be  a  great  loss  if  the  industry  is  established  in  a 
region  not  adapted  to  it;  hence  the  importance  of  know- 
ing the  conditions  contributing  to  the  success  of  sugar- 
beet  production.  These  conditions  may  be  grouped  as : 
(1)  climatic  conditions,  (2)  nature  of  the  soil,  and  (3) 
economic  conditions.  Of  the  climatic  factors,  temper- 

36 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Beets  37 

ature,  sunshine,  moisture,  and  wind  are  of  greatest  con- 
sequence. 

CLIMATIC  CONDITIONS 

Temperature.  • 

The  sugar-beet  will  grow  in  most  parts  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  where  the  ordinary  crops  of  the 
temperate  climate  thrive ;  but  the  region  maturing  beets 
of  desirable  sugar-content,  purity,  and  yield  is  confined 
to  a  rather  narrow  strip  across  the  continent.  It  lies 
largely  in  a  wedge-shaped  area  including  California, 
Oregon,  and  Washington  on  the  west,  and  tapering  ir- 
regularly to  the  east,  with  Michigan  and  the  states  to  the 
east  as  the  sharp  end  of  the  wedge. 

So  far  as  sugar  is  concerned,  the  best  sugar-beet  regions 
are  those  with  an  average  temperature  of  about  70  °  F. 
during  the  three  summer  months  —  June,  July,  and 
August.  The  distribution  of  the  heat  over  the  summer 
period  as  well  as  the  daily  variations  in  temperature 
affects  the  average  temperature  required.  Unlike  corn, 
beets  a're  not  injured  by  cool  nights  during  the  warm  part 
of  the  growing  season.  A  great  amount  of  heat  is  not 
required  when  the  beets  are  young;  neither  will  they 
thrive  if  the  weather  is  cold  and  damp  just  after  planting. 
This  condition  retards  germination  and  causes  part  of 
the  seeds  to  decay  in  the  soil.  The  young  plants  that 
emerge  are  also  likely  to  be  attacked  by  disease,  such  as 
that  caused  by  the  damping-off  fungi.  With  a  protracted 
cold  spring,  the  young  beets  sometimes  receive  a  set-back 
from  which  they  never  fully  recover. 

Beets  should  do  well  in  most  localities  where  the  sum- 


38 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Beets  39 

mer  temperature  is  suitable,  provided  planting  is  not 
begun  until  the  soil  is  warm  enough  to  insure  good  ger- 
mination and  a  rapid  growth  while  the  plants  are  young 
and  tender.  Hot  weather  during  this  period  is  unde- 
sirable, since  this  condition  makes  the  young  plants  less 
able  to  overcome  the  shock  resulting  from  the  disturb- 
ance they  receive  at  thinning  time. 

A  severe  frost  just  as  the  plants  are  coming  up  is  al- 
most fatal,  and  replanting  is  usually  necessary.  At  this 
time  they  are  most  sensitive  to  frost.  Later,  after  a  few 
leaves  have  been  developed  and  a  number  of  healthy  roots 
sent  into  the  soil,  they  become  much  more  hardy.  In 
the  fall  of  the  year  the  beet  can  stand  rather  severe  frost 
without  injury,  very  much  more  than  can  be  endured  by 
corn. 

Severe  freezing  in  the  fall  is  likely  to  cause  trouble  by 
freezing  the  beets  in  the  ground,  in  which  case  it  is  very 
difficult  and  sometimes  impossible  to  harvest  them,  and 
almost  complete  loss  results.  In  order  to  be  entirely  safe, 
an  area  raising  sugar-beets  should  have  about  five  months 
in  which  severe  freezing  does  not  occur.  Slight  frosts 
during  this  time,  particularly  in  the  fall,  may  do  no  dam- 
age. The  short  season  in  the  cooler  parts  of  America 
prevents  the  proper  ripening  of  the  beets,  resulting 
in  a  low  sugar-content  and  consequently  poor  milling 
quality. 

The  high  temperatures  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
United  States  have  a  tendency  to  cause  a  vegetative 
growth  producing  good  yields,  but  the  beets  are  poor  in 
quality.  In  some  regions  having  a  high  temperature  at 
certain  seasons,  beets  are  planted  at  a  time  that  will  en- 


40  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

able  them  to  make  the  greater  part  of  their  growth  during 
the  cooler  part  of  the  year. 

Sunlight. 

Sugar  is  made  by  the  action  of  sunlight  on  the  chloro- 
phyll of  the  beet  leaf ;  hence  the  storage  of  a  large  amount 
of  sugar  requires  a  great  deal  of  light.  In  northern 
latitudes  where  days  are  long,  the  beet  is  able  to  store 
sugar  faster  than  farther  south  where  the  summer  days 
are  shorter.  For  this  reason,  the  growing  period  of  the 
north  does  not  need  to  be  so  long. 

Workers  in  the  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture 1  as  a  result  of  experiments  were  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  sugar-content  of  the  beet  is  not  dependent  on 
direct  sunshine.  Diffused  sunlight  from  a  cloudy  sky 
seemed  to  be  practically  as  good  as  direct  sunshine.  Sun- 
shine probably  has  a  sanitary  effect,  however,  since  at- 
tacks of  diseases  are  much  greater  during  damp,  cloudy 
weather  than  during  periods  when  the  sun  is  shining 
brightly.  The  effect  of  sunlight  is  so  closely  related  to 
temperature  and  moisture  that  it  is  rather  difficult  to 
discover  just  what  its  effects  are. 

Moisture. 

Favorable  soil  moisture  conditions  are  essential  to  suc- 
cess in  beet-raising.  A  crop  costing  less  to  produce  may 
be  raised  where  it  is  too  wet  or  too  dry  for  maximum 
yields  without  the  results  being  serious,  since  little  is 
involved.  With  sugar-beets  it  would  not  pay  to  go  to 

1  Wiley,  H.  W.,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Bur.  of  Chem.  Bui. 
No.  96. 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Beets 


41 


§E 


«  <  '•» 

i  I 


42  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

all  the  trouble  necessary  to  produce  the  crop  if  the  yields 
were  greatly  reduced  by  unfavorable  conditions. 

The  use  of  irrigation  water  makes  possible  an  easy  con- 
trol of  soil  moisture,  and  as  a  result  the  beet-sugar  indus- 
try of  America  is  largely  an  industry  of  irrigated  districts. 
Michigan  is  the  only  important  sugar-beet  state  where 
irrigation  is  not  practiced.  The  methods  of  maintaining 
proper  moisture  relations  by  the  aid  of  irrigation  are 
discussed  in  a  later  chapter. 

In  non-irrigated  regions,  the  production  of  sugar- 
beets  follows  the  zone  with  a  favorable  distribution  of 
rainfall  as  closely  as  the  zone  of  favorable  temperature. 
The  time  and  manner  in  which  the  precipitation  is  re- 
ceived, as  well  as  the  total  amount,  must  be  considered. 
In  a  district  having  heavy  soil  that  packs  or  crusts,  a 
heavy  rain  at  the  time  the  plants  are  sprouting  may  cause 
trouble.  A  region  having  the  greater  part  of  its  rain 
during  the  period  when  the  beet  is  growing  most  rapidly 
and  ceasing  before  harvest  time  is  fortunate.  Regions 
having  a  continuously  rainy  and  damp  summer,  however, 
do  not  raise  good  beets. 

Small  showers  at  the  right  time  may  be  beneficial,  but 
usually  they  do  not  wet  down  far  enough  to  do  any  good. 
If  the  precipitation  comes  in  heavy  rains,  there  may  also 
be  considerable  loss  due  to  run-off  from  the  surface  of 
the  land.  Such  storms  also  have  a  tendency  to  pack  the 
soil  and  cause  crusting.  It  is  desirable,  therefore,  in  con- 
sidering a  region  for  sugar-beet  production,  to  study  the 
nature  of  the  rainfall  as  well  as  the  total  amount.  Hail- 
storms are  not  so  injurious  to  beets  as  to  crops  having  the 
marketable  portion  above  ground. 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Beets  43 

Wind. 

In  many  beet-producing  sections  winds  at  certain  sea- 
sons are  rather  serious.  This  is  particularly  true  with 
spring  winds  that  come  about  the  time  the  seed  is  planted 
or  immediately  before  or  after.  Winds  coming  before  the 
seed  is  planted  are  likely  to  dry  out  the  seed-bed  so  much 
that  it  is  necessary  to  plant  the  seed  too  deep  in  order  to 
find  sufficient  moisture.  Winds  about  the  time  of  plant- 
ing may  blow  the  seed  out  of  the  ground  and  make  the 
stand  very  irregular.  When  the  young  plants  are  coming 
up,  winds  often  cause  injury  to  the  seedling  by  the  cut- 
ting action  of  shifting  sand.  Hot  winds  may  also  com- 
pletely dry  up  the  young  plants  even  when  sufficient  water 
is  present  deeper  in  the  soil. 

The  bad  effects  of  winds  may  be  overcome  in  part  by 
a  number  of  methods.  Windbreaks,  an  abundant  supply 
of  humus,  plowing,  cultivating,  keeping  the  rows  at  right 
angles  to  the  direction  of  the  wind,  and  the  formation  of 
a  mulch  of  small  clods  at  the  surface  of  the  land  all  help. 
Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  shift  the  period  of  seeding 
in  order  that  the  plant  will  not  be  in  a  critical  stage  at 
the  time  of  regular  winds. 

THE  SOIL 

For  the  production  of  good  sugar-beets,  the  soil  should 
be  fertile,  deep,  and  of  a  texture  that  is  easy  to  work. 
No  particular  kind  of  soil  is  absolutely  necessary.  Any 
good  soil  adapted  to  the  raising  of  general  crops  such  as 
potatoes,  corn,  and  the  small  grains  will  also  produce 
beets,  which  are  raised  on  soils  of  every  texture  ranging 


44  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

from  a  sand  to  a  clay.  A  coarse  sand  is  not  good  because 
it  does  not  hold  sufficient  water,  and  it  is  not  usually  strong 
in  available  plant-food.  A  clay  is  not  the  best,  since  it 
does  not  furnish  the  root  a  medium  in  which  to  expand 
readily.  It  is,  moreover,  not  adapted  to  the  great  amount 
of  working  necessary  in  beet-raising.  A  medium  loam 
is,  on  the  whole,  most  satisfactory.  It  should  be  deep 
enough  to  allow  an  easy  penetration  of  the  feeding 
roots. 

A  fuller  discussion  of  the  relation  of  beets  to  the  soil 
is  given  in  Chapter  V. 

ECONOMIC   CONDITIONS 

Competition  with  other  crops. 

Many  districts  adapted  to  the  culture  of  beets  do  not 
produce  them  because  beets  cannot  compete  with  other 
crops  in  these  sections.  Some  of  these  crops  yield  greater 
returns  to  the  acre  and  will,  as  a  result,  shut  out  beets  in 
districts  where  land  is  limited  and  the  highest  returns 
must  be  secured.  Other  crops,  because  they  use  little 
labor,  prevent  beets  from  getting  a  foothold  where  labor 
is  the  limiting  factor. 

Beets  would  thrive  in  many  of  the  districts  that  grow 
truck  crops  near  large  cities,  but  greater  returns  are  ob- 
tained from  the  latter  than  could  be  had  from  beets. 
Likewise,  many  orchard  districts  give  a  return  to  the 
acre  of  land  with  which  beets  cannot  compete.  Attempts 
have  been  made  to  introduce  sugar-beets  into  the  corn- 
belt,  but  corn  is  so  well  adapted  to  these  regions  that  no 
competing  crop  has  been  able  to  displace  it.  Beets  re- 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Beets  45 

quire  attention  at  the  same  time  corn  must  be  cared  for, 
and  since  corn  in  this  section  brings  more  money  for  the 
labor,  sugar-beets  will  probably  not  gain  much  of  a  foot- 
hold unless  economic  conditions  change.  A  decided  ad- 
vance in  the  price  of  sugar  or  a  decline  in  the  price  of 
corn  might  change  this  balance  entirely. 

Sugar-beets  have  not  secured  a  strong  foothold  in  the 
great  wheat  sections  of  the  country,  partly  because  the 
farmers  can  earn  more  money  with  less  labor  by  han- 
dling a  large  acreage  of  wheat  than  by  handling  a  few 
acres  of  beets.  The  farmer  who  has  been  used  to  raising 
500  or  1000  acres  of  wheat  and  doing  most  of  the  work 
by  machinery  is  not  likely  to  be  satisfied  to  spend  all  of 
his  time  over  fifteen  or  twenty  acres  of  beets,  particu- 
larly if  he  has  to  do  most  of  the  work  by  hand. 

It  takes  time  for  sugar-beets  to  come  into  active  com- 
petition with  long-established  crops,  even  though  condi- 
tions are  highly  favorable  to  their  growth.  Farmers  have 
to  learn  how  to  raise  the  crop,  and  they  are  limited  in 
their  markets  to  regions  having  a  sugar  factory.  This 
means  that  the  industry  is  usually  extended  gradually 
and  not  rapidly ;  but  where  it  is  well  established,  sugar- 
beets  usually  have  little  difficulty  in  competing  with  most 
of  the  ordinary  farm  crops. 

Labor. 

More  than  ten  times  as  much  hand  labor  is  required  to 
raise  an  acre  of  beets  as  to  raise  an  acre  of  wheat,  over 
five  times  as  much  as  to  raise  an  acre  of  corn,  and  more 
than  twice  as  much  as  to  raise  an  acre  of  potatoes.  The 
horse  labor  required  for  beets  is  over  three  times  that 


46  The  Sugar- Beet  in  America 

for  wheat,  oats,  and  barley,  and  about  one  and  one-half 
times  as  much  as  for  potatoes.  If  only  four  to  eight 
acres  of  beets  are  raised,  the  amount  hardly  justifies 
bringing  in  expert  contract  labor;  but  if  the  farmer  at- 
tempts to  do  all  the  work  himself,  other  crops  are  greatly 
interfered  with.  If  he  has  children  of  his  own  or  if  he  can 
hire  school  children,  he  may  be  able  to  get  along.  From 
fifteen  to  twenty-five  acres  are  necessary  in  order  to  make 
it  pay  to  take  advantage  of  contract  labor  for  thinning 
and  harvesting. 

New  growers  should  not  attempt  to  raise  too  many 
acres  of  beets,  since  they  are  not  familiar  with  the  re- 
quirements of  the  crop  and  great  waste  may  result  from 
their  inability  to  do  work  at  the  proper  time.  After  a 
few  years  of  beet-raising,  the  farmer  learns  to  adjust  the 
acreage  to  the  labor  he  can  command  during  the  busy 
season.  On  the  small  irrigated  farms  in  the  thickly 
settled  regions,  the  labor  question  is  not  so  acute  as  in 
the  newer  regions  that  have  small  population.  A  survey 
in  Utah  showed  that  as  the  size  of  farm  decreased,  the 
percentage  of  the  land  .^ising  beets  increased. 

Where  beets  are  raised  on  a  large  scale,  the  labor  prob- 
lem is  solved  by  hiring  foreigners  to  do  the  hand  work. 
Some  of  these  are  permanent  farm  hands;  others  may 
have  had  experience  working  in  beet  fields  in  their  native 
land  but  are  doing  city  work  in  this  country.  This  class 
of  labor  may  be  induced  to  go  to  the  farms  for  a  few 
months  during  the  busy  part  of  the  beet  season.  The 
most  satisfactory  way  when  possible  is  to  keep  the  hands 
on  the  farm  throughout  the  year,  having  other  means  of 
employment  when  they  are  not  needed  in  the  beet  fields. 


•H 


PLATE  V.  —  Above,  cheap  houses  of  this  kind  are  often  constructed  to 
care  for  foreign  labor ;  center,  houses  of  this  kind  attract  labor  which  is 
an  important  item  for  success  in  raising  sugar-beets ;  below,  pumping 
water  for  irrigation.  (Courtesy  Pacific  Sugar  Corporation.) 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Beets  47 

To  get  this  result,  it  is  necessary,  or  at  least  desirable, 
that  small  houses  be  built  near  the  fields.  Plate  V 
shows  desirable  houses  for  this  purpose.  Provision  for 
suitable  living  conditions  for  those  who  must  do  hard 
manual  labor  is  a  greater  factor  in  getting  and  keeping 
hired  labor  than  is  realized  by  many  farmers.  Many 
suitable  workers  could  be  induced  to  move  to  the  farms 
to  meet  the  labor  situation  if  more  suitable  living  condi- 
tions and  better  pay  were  provided. 

Where  gangs  of  foreign  laborers  are  imported,  they  are 
much  more  contented  and  do  better  work  if  they  work 
together  in  colonies  rather  than  as  individuals.  To 
satisfy  this  condition  requires  large  acreages.  In  some 
communities  movable  houses  are  used  by  the  contracting 
laborers,  the  houses  being  moved  from  field  to  field  as 
necessary.  These  houses  are  very  desirable  where  the 
individual  fields  in  a  district  are  too  small  to  make  it 
worth  while  to  build  permanent  houses. 

The  labor  question  is  probably  the  most  difficult  gen- 
eral problem  with  which  the  sugar-beet  growers  have  to 
contend.  It  is  a  problem  that  must  be  handled  by  com- 
munity action  or  by  the  sugar  companies  who  are  gen- 
erally well  prepared  to  secure  and  distribute  this  labor, 
since  they  can  determine  through  their  field  men  the 
approximate  labor  situation  throughout  the  territory 
contributing  beets  to  their  factory.  If  the  farmers  can 
be  induced  to  report  their  probable  labor  needs  to  these 
field  men  in  advance,  the  proper  amount  of  imported 
labor  usually  can  be  secured. 

The  United  States  Government  is  attempting  to  keep 
in  touch  with  the  labor  situation  in  all  parts  of  the  country 


48  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

in  order  that  the  best  possible  distribution  of  the  laborers 
may  be  made.  In  some  communities  where  there  is  in- 
sufficient labor,  farmers  bid  against  one  another  for  the 
labor  that  is  available,  resulting  in  prices  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  the  service  obtained.  Such  action  does  not 
improve  the  labor  situation ;  it  merely  raises  wages  with- 
out increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  labor.  An  appeal  to 
the  sugar  companies  or  the  government  for  additional 
workers  might  bring  the  required  labor  at  prices  satis- 
factory to  both  the  growers  and  the  workers. 

When  labor  must  be  hired,  it  is  much  more  satisfactory 
to  have  the  work  done  by  contracts  based  on  tonnage 
than  merely  to  contract  by  the  piece  or  by  the  acre. 
Time  labor,  though  usually  slower  than  piece  contracting, 
results  in  better  work  if  properly  supervised.  Since  man 
labor  constitutes  nearly  half  the  total  cost  of  growing 
beets,  and  since  more  than  two-thirds  of  this  labor  comes 
at  the  time  of  thinning  and  harvesting,  it  is  imperative 
that  as  many  labor-saving  devices  as  possible  be  used. 
Relief  at  the  harvest  season  seems  to  be  in  sight,  for  a 
number  of  mechanical  toppers  are  proving  successful. 
No  practical  method  has  as  yet  been  devised  for  lessening 
materially  the  labor  of  blocking  and  thinning.  Up  to 
the  present  time  machines  designed  to  do  this  work  have 
failed  to  give  satisfaction. 

Capital. 

The  raising  of  sugar-beets  requires  much  more  capital 
than  do  most  other  crops.  In  the  first  place,  good  sugar- 
beet  land  is  usually  high-priced.  Special  planters,  culti- 
vators, harvesters,  and  racks  are  required  in  handling  the 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Eeets  49 

crop.  The  chief  item  to  consider  is  the  expense  of  raising 
the  crop.  It  costs  more  to  produce  an  acre  of  beets  than 
is  required  to  purchase  outright  several  acres  of  the 
cheaper  wheat  lands.  This  money  must  all  be  spent  be- 
fore any  returns  are  obtained. 

In  the  older  districts  where  beets  are  known  to  do  well, 
this  item  is  not  so  serious,  since  the  banks  are  willing  to 
advance  money  on  the  prospect  of  the  crop ;  but  in  dis- 
tricts where  the  success  of  beets  is  uncertain,  the  amount 
of  money  required  to  produce  a  crop  may  be  a  serious 
matter.  Under  conditions  of  this  kind,  it  is  often  neces- 
sary for  the  sugar  company  to  furnish  implements  on 
"  time  "  and  to  render  other  financial  aid  during  the  grow- 
ing season. 

Transportation. 

The  transporting  of  beets  is  one  of  the  deciding  factors 
in  determining  whether  or  not  the  crop  can  be  raised  in 
a  given  district.  Because  the  crop  is  bulky,  there  is  a 
decided  limit  to  the  distance  it  can  be  hauled  profitably. 
There  are  many  small  areas  that  can  produce  excellent 
beets,  but  are  not  of  sufficient  size  to  support  a  factory 
and  are  too  far  from  any  factory  to  justify  hauling  the 
beets.  There  are  also  good  beet  districts  that  are  large 
enough  to  support  a  factory,  but  the  whole  district  is  so 
far  from  a  railroad  that  it  would  not  be  practical  to 
attempt  establishing  a  factory.  It  costs  about  thirty 
cents  a  ton  to  haul  beets  a  mile  by  team;  hence  it  is 
not  practical  to  have  beet  fields  at  great  distances  from 
dumps.  Ordinarily,  beets  cannot  be  hauled  more  than 
three  or  four  miles  by  team.  This  depends  somewhat 


50  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

on  the  kind  of  roads  and  on  how  busy  the  farmer  is  with 
other  work  at  the  time  beets  are  to  be  hauled. 

The  whole  beet-sugar  industry  is  closely  tied  up  with 
the  question  of  transportation.  Each  prospective  sugar- 
beet  area  must  be  considered  from  this  viewpoint  as  well 
as  from  its  adaptability  to  the  raising  of  beets. 

Special  troubles. 

A  number  of  special  troubles  must  be  kept  in  mind  in 
considering  conditions  for  beet-raising.  Among  these  are 
diseases  and  insect  pests.  A  number  of  factories  have 
failed  because  beets  in  the  district  have  been  so  greatly 
infested  by  curly-leaf  and  other  serious  troubles.  For 
this  reason  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  invest  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars  in  a  mill  where  external  con- 
ditions only  seemed  to  be  favorable  to  the  industry.  It 
is  much  safer  to  raise  beets  for  a  number  of  years  first 
in  order  to  see  whether  any  of  these  serious  troubles  de- 
velop. Hot  winds,  severe  drought  at  a  critical  period, 
and  many  other  unfavorable  conditions  may  completely 
outweigh  other  favorable  ones. 

Kind  of  farmers. 

Successful  sugar-beet  growing  requires  good  farmers. 
Every  operation  from  the  plowing  of  the  land  to  the  de- 
livery of  the  beets  is  particular  and  calls  for  skill  and 
painstaking  care.  There  is  no  operation  that  can  be 
slighted  without  reflecting  itself  in  the  returns.  Many 
farmers  fail  because  they  are  not  willing  to  look  after 
details.  They  want  to  apply  wheat-growing  methods, 
and  these  methods  simply  will  not  succeed  with  sugar- 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Beets  51 

beets.  The  farmer  who  does  not  want  to  bother  with  the 
crop  from  the  time  it  is  planted  until  it  is  ready  to  har- 
vest had  better  devote  himself  to  extensive  crops;  he 
certainly  cannot  make  a  success  in  raising  beets,  —  at 
least  not  until  he  changes  his  methods. 

The  sugar-beet  is  sensitive  to  the  attention  it  receives. 
It  does  not  thrive  under  "horse-back"  methods  of  farm- 
ing. The  farmer  who  would  succeed  with  it  must  get 
down  on  his  knees  and  use  his  fingers,  almost  fondling  each 
plant.  If  he  is  not  willing  to  do  this,  he  will  not  be  a 
good  beet  farmer. 

The  people  of  some  communities  are  not  adapted  to  the 
raising  of  beets.  They  are  not  willing  to  give  the  personal 
attention  and  the  work  that  is  required.  If  their  chief 
thought  is  to  do  as  little  work  as  possible  and  to  make 
their  profit  by  selling  the  farm  instead  of  tilling  it,  they 
are  not  good  beet  farmers.  In  order  for  a  community 
to  be  successful  at  beet-raising,  it  must  have  the  attitude 
that  a  farm  is  a  place  on  which  to  raise  crops  and  not  a 
place  that  is  just  held  to  be  sold  at  the  first  opportunity. 
For  this  reason  new  communities  rarely  succeed  with 
beets.  Usually  it  is  necessary  to  wait  until  those  on  the 
land  feel  that  they  are  established  in  a  permanent  home. 
The  period  of  good  beet-farming  does  not  come  until 
the  days  of  boom  and  land  speculation  have  passed. 

The  high  sugar-content  and  purity  of  sugar-beets  are 
artificial  characters  produced  by  years  of  special  culti- 
vation, selection,  and  breeding.  The  quality  of  the  crop 
is,  therefore,  subject  to  modification  by  cultural  methods. 
It  responds  readily  to  good  treatment,  and  as  quickly 
deteriorates  under  bad.  A  good  farmer  will  succeed  with 


52  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

beets,  whereas  his  neighbor  who  is  a  poor  farmer  will 
fail  miserably. 

In  considering  the  advisability  of  establishing  a  factory 
in  a  region,  considerable  attention  should  be  given  to  the 
kind  of  farmers  who  will  raise  the  beets. 

The  factory. 

The  first  consideration  in  attempting  to  introduce  the 
sugar-beet  industry  in  a  district  is,  of  course,  a  guarantee 
from  the  farmers  that  they  will  grow  a  sufficient  acreage 
of  beets  to  assure  a  reasonably  long  run  for  a  factory. 
Many  of  the  factories  that  have  failed  would  have  con- 
tinued had  the  supply  of  good  beets  been  large  enough. 
Quality  of  beets  is  perhaps  more  important  than  quantity, 
because  if  the  proper  quality  can  be  secured,  the  prices 
can  usually  be  regulated  so  as  to  make  it  profitable  for 
the  farmers  to  produce  the  necessary  quantity.  If  beets 
testing  12  per  cent  or  more  of  sugar  and  with  a  purity 
coefficient  of  at  least  70  per  cent  cannot  be  obtained,  the 
success  of  a  factory  is  doubtful.  The  price  paid  by  the 
manufacturers  for  beets  constitutes  over  two-thirds  of 
the  total  cost  of  manufacturing  beet-sugar ;  and  the  cost 
is  relatively  much  less  for  good  beets  than  for  poor  ones. 
Factories  that  must  work  beets  from  which  only  220 
pounds  of  sugar  can  be  extracted  from  each  ton  are 
distinctly  at  a  disadvantage  when  compared  with  those 
that  can  extract  300  pounds  with  practically  the  same 
expenditure  for  manufacturing,  even  if  the  better  beets 
cost  considerably  more. 

With  a  given  quality  of  beets,  it  is  very  desirable  that 
the  quantity  grown  be  as  great  as  the  economic  conditions 


Conditions  for  Growing  Sugar-Beets  53 

will  justify.  For  a  good  run  of  an  average-sized  factory, 
3000  to  5000  acres  or  more  of  beets  should  be  grown.  It 
has  been  found  that  factories  with  a  slicing  capacity  of 
800  tons  daily  are  materially  more  efficient  in  sugar  manu- 
facturing than  are  those  handling  less  than  500  tons  daily. 
It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  build  a  factory  with  a  large 
daily  capacity  in  a  district  not  capable  of  furnishing 
beets  to  supply  the  daily  tonnage  for  a  run  lasting  in  the 
neighborhood  of  ninety  to  one  hundred  days.  Since  it 
is  impossible  to  determine  accurately  beforehand  just 
what  acreage  a  new  region  will  grow,  it  is  usually  better 
to  build  a  medium-sized  factory  capable  of  being  enlarged 
than  to  build  a  large  one  that  may  need  to  be  removed. 

In  choosing  a  location  for  a  factory,  one  of  the  first 
considerations  is  an  abundant  supply  of  pure  water. 
Large  quantities  of  alkali  salts  or  other  foreign  matter 
in  the  water  make  the  extraction  and  purification  of  the 
juices  much  more  difficult  than  with  pure  water.  Cheap 
fuel  must  be  available  as  well  as  a  good  quality  of  cheap 
limestone.  With  much  bulky  material  such  as  beets, 
coal,  and  limestone  to  be  moved,  transportation  costs 
run  high  unless  the  lowest  possible  rates  are  secured.  For 
this  reason  it  is  an  advantage  to  locate  a  factory  where 
there  is  competition  from  two  or  more  railroads.  It  is 
also  better  to  locate  the  factory  in  a  position  as  nearly  in 
the  center  of  the  beet-growing  area  as  possible  rather  than 
to  favor  a  position  near  a  village.  The  closer  the  factory  is 
to  the  beet  fields,  the  better  is  the  condition  of  the  beets 
when  they  reach  the  factory. 


CHAPTER  V 
SOILS 

SUCCESSFUL  sugar-beet  production,  as  well  as  every  other 
phase  of  agriculture,  is  dependent  on  the  intelligent  han- 
dling of  the  soil.  All  farm  profits  ultimately  go  back  to  the 
land.  Live-stock,  important  as  it  is,  merely  furnishes  a 
means  of  marketing  what  the  soil  produces.  Every  effort 
should  be  made  to  understand  the  needs  of  the  soil  in 
order  that  it  may  be  made  to  yield  bounteously  and 
permanently. 

RELATION  OF  SOIL  TO  BEET-CULTURE 

Sugar-beets  are  not  so  sensitive  as  to  require  a  special 
kind  of  soil.  They  will  grow  on  any  good  agricultural 
land  on  which  the  ordinary  field  crops  thrive.  As  with 
other  crops,  however,  beets  do  better  on  some  soils  than 
on  others.  This  is  reflected  much  more  in  the  yield  than 
in  the  quality  of  beets.  Wiley,1  after  making  a  rather 
exhaustive  study  of  beets  raised  on  soils  in  many  parts 
of  the  United  States,  reports : 

1  Wiley,  H.  W.,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Chem.  Bui  No.  96, 
p.  34. 

54 


Sails  55 

"  The  data  show  in  a  general  way  what  has  been  observed 
before,  that  the  quality  of  the  soil  has  but  little  to  do  with 
sugar  content  of  the  beet.  It  is  true  that  if  the  soils  be 
so  very  poor  that  the  beet  is  very  much  stunted  in  its 
growth,  reaching  a  weight  of  only  two  or  three  ounces  at 
maturity,  the  poverty  of  the  soil  would  act  in  this  way  to 
increase  the  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  beet ;  but  this  is 
only  incidental,  since  any  unfavorable  condition  would 
act  in  the  same  way,  as,  for  instance,  a  deficient  rainfall 
or  imperfect  cultivation.  It  is  quite  certain  that  a  very 
rich  soil,  in  the  presence  of  an  environment  otherwise 
favorable  to  a  large  growth,  would  have  the  opposite  ef- 
fect, for  the  overgrown  beet  is  prone  to  have  an  excess 
of  cellular  tissue,  to  become  pithy  and  be  less  sweet.  In 
this  case,  also,  the  effect  is  largely  fortuitous,  for  it  is 
evident  that  in  any  condition  of  over-fertility  the  beets 
may  be  grown  so  close  together  as  to  prevent  large  size, 
and  thus  their  percentage  of  sugar  may  be  largely  con- 
served. 

"It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  use  of  certain  fer- 
tilizers in  definite  proportions  may  tend  to  increase  the 
percentage  of  sugar.  This  is  particularly  true  of  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid.  On  the  contrary,  an  abundant 
supply  of  nitrogenous  fertilizer  may  tend  to  depress  the 
content  of  sugar.  In  the  latter  case  the  effect  is  probably 
due  to  a  tendency  to  increase  the  growth,  while  in  the 
former  case  it  may  be  partly  due  to  securing  a  proper 
ripening  of  the  beet  and  thus  avoiding  overgrowth,  and 
partly  to  actual  saccharigenic  influences  of  the  fertilizers 
themselves.  Whatever  the  physiological  action  may  be, 
it  is  evident  that  neither  soil  nor  fertilizer  is  the  dominant 


56  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

or  even  important  factor  affecting  the  percentage  of  sugar 
in  the  beet." 

Even  though,  as  pointed  out  above,  the  soil  does  not 
affect  greatly  the  sugar-content  of  the  beet,  it  is  of  the 
highest  importance  in  determining  yield ;  and  after  all  it 
is  yield  in  which  the  farmer  is  most  interested.  The  fac- 
tory is  also  interested  in  securing  a  high  tonnage  of  sugar 
to  the  acre.  Every  phase  of  the  soil  should,  therefore,  be 
given  consideration  by  the  producer  of  sugar-beets. 

ORIGIN  OF  SOILS 

The  material  of  which  the  soil  is  made  has  been  de- 
rived largely  from  the  rocks  and  minerals  composing  the 
crust  of  the  earth ;  but  in  some  soils  a  considerable  part 
is  made  up  of  vegetative  matter  from  the  bodies  of  dead 
plants.  All  agricultural  soils  contain  a  small  quantity 
of  organic  matter  which  is  intimately  mixed  with  the 
mineral  matter.  It  is  difficult  to  tell  in  all  cases  just 
the  kind  of  rock  from  which  a  given  soil  is  derived,  since 
a  great  amount  of  weathering  and  mixing  often  cause  it 
almost  to  lose  its  original  identity. 

Numerous  minerals  may  be  isolated  from  every  soil, 
but  in  the  finer  soils  the  minerals  are  separated  only  with 
difficulty  on  account  of  the  minuteness  of  the  particles. 
Among  the  most  common  minerals  making  up  the  soil 
are  quartz,  the  feldspars,  hornblende,  pyroxene,  mica, 
chlorite,  calcite,  dolomite,  gypsum,  apatite,  and  the 
zeolites.  Each  of  these  brings  to  the  soil  some  plant-food 
that  helps  to  nourish  the  crop.  Some  of  them  make  much 
better  soils  than  others,  but  all  contribute  their  part. 


Soils  57 

Few  of  these  minerals  occur  separately;  they  are 
usually  combined  to  form  the  different  igneous  and  sedi- 
mentary rocks,  which,  on  decomposing,  form  soils.  Each 
one  has  its  effect  on  the  resulting  soil.  Granite,  con- 
taining a  potash  feldspar,  gives  a  soil  rich  in  potash  and 
also  high  in  phosphoric  acid,  which  comes  from  small 
apatite  crystals.  Eruptive  rocks  as  a  class  decompose 
slowly,  but  usually  form  highly  productive  soils.  Hard 
limestone  dissolves  slowly,  but  the  softer  varieties  go  into 
solution  readily.  Limestone  soils,  from  which  much  of 
the  lime  has  been  leached,  form  some  of  the  richest  soils. 
Many  of  the  better  sugar-beet  sections  of  America  have 
soil  high  in  lime.  Sandstone  soils  are  often  poor,  but  this 
depends  on  the  material  cementing  the  grains  together. 
Claystone  soils  are  usually  rich  in  plant-food,  but  are  too 
heavy  for  the  best  growth  of  sugar-beets.  Hardpans 
are  formed  where  an  excess  of  alkali  accompanies  the 
clay. 

Soils  are  formed  from  minerals  and  rocks  by  the  various 
chemical  and  physical  agencies  of  rock  decay  known  as 
weathering.  The  most  important  of  these  agencies  are : 
(1)  heat  and  cold,  (2)  water,  (3)  ice,  (4)  the  atmosphere, 
and  (5)  plants  and  animals.  Their  action  is  both  me- 
chanical and  chemical,  the  mechanical  causing  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  rock  into  finer  fragments,  and  the  chemical 
causing  a  change  in  the  actual  composition  of  the  material. 

CLASSIFICATION   OF  SOILS 

Soils  may  be  classified  according  to  their  origin  as  either 
sedentary  or  transported.  Sedentary  soils  are  of  two 


58  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

kinds :  those  that  overlie  the  rock  from  which  they  were 
formed,  and  those  formed  in  place  largely  by  the  accumu- 
lation of  organic  matter,  as  in  swamps.  Transported  soils 
vary  with  the  agent  used  in  carrying  the  materials  of  which 
they  are  composed.  Those  transported  by  running  water 
are  called  alluvial;  by  ice,  glacial;  by  wind,  seolian; 
and  by  the  ocean,  marine.  Each  of  these  kinds  of  soils 
has  its  own  peculiar  properties,  although  the  composition 
is  dependent  largely  on  the  rock  from  which  it  is  formed. 
Probably  more  sugar-beets  are  raised  on  the  alluvial  soils 
than  on  any  other  group,  although  good  beet  sections  are 
found  on  all  the  groups. 

In  addition  to  classification  according  to  origin,  soils 
are  sometimes  classified  by  their  chemical  composition, 
by  the  native  vegetation  growing  on  them,  by  the  crops 
to  which  they  are  suited,  by  the  size  of  particles  com- 
posing them,  and  by  a  number  of  other  properties.  For 
our  purpose  the  classification  according  to  the  crop  adap- 
tation is  probably  most  interesting. 

SOIL  AND   SUBSOIL 
(Plates  VI  and  VII) 

For  practical  purposes,  the  soil  layer  is  divided  into 
the  surface  soil  and  subsoil,  the  subsoil  being  the  part 
below  the  plowed  zone.  Soils  vary  greatly  in  their  general 
make-up;  some  are  but  a  few  inches  deep  and  overlie 
rock,  whereas  others  are  hundreds  of  feet  deep  and  fairly 
uniform  throughout.  Every  gradation  between  these  two 
is  found,  including  clay  surface  soil  with  gravelly  subsoil 
or  gravelly  surface  with  clay  below.  In  arid  regions  the 


sa 


i    3 


?§ 


Soils  59 

difference  between  the  surface  and  the  subsoil  is  not  great, 
the  subsoil  being  in  many  cases  just  as  fertile  and  mellow 
as  the  upper  layer.  In  humid  regions,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  subsoil  is  often  compact  and,  on  account  of  its  lack 
of  aeration,  seems  "dead"  when  brought  to  the  surface. 
Such  soils  sometimes  require  a  number  of  years  to  be- 
come fertile.  Sugar-beets,  on  account  of  their  deep  pene- 
tration of  roots  and  their  high  air  requirement,  find  their 
best  growth  only  in  soils  having  a  subsoil  condition  that 
is  favorable.  Any  hardpan  layer  is  particularly  detri- 
mental. 

SOIL  TEXTURE 

Soils  vary  greatly  in  the  size  of  particles  composing 
them.  Some  are  made  up  almost  entirely  of  coarse  parti- 
cles; others  are  composed  entirely  of  fine.  Most  soils, 
however,  contain  some  fine  and  some  coarse  grains,  the 
relative  number  of  each  determining  the  texture,  which 
cannot  be  modified  by  the  farmer.  The  texture  of  the 
soil  has  a  great  influence  on  the  method  of  tillage  as  well 
as  on  a  number  of  its  properties,  such  as  the  water-hold- 
ing capacity,  the  circulation  of  air,  and  the  availability 
of  plant-food.  These  all  help  in  determining  the  kind 
of  crop  that  should  be  grown.  For  example,  peaches  and 
cherries  thrive  on  a  soil  having  a  coarse  texture ;  the  small 
grains  prefer  a  "  heavier  "  soil ;  sugar-beets  and  most  other 
crops  do  best  on  soils  of  intermediate  texture,  such  as  the 
loams. 

The  various  sizes  of  particles  composing  the  soil  have 
been  classified  by  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Soils,  as  follows : 


60 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


TABLE  III.  —  NUMBER  OF  SOIL  PARTICLES  IN  A  GRAM  OP  SOIL 
OF  DIFFERENT  TEXTURES 


NAME 

DIAMETER  IN 
MILLIMETERS 

NUMBER  op  PARTICLES 
IN  A  GRAM  OF  SOIL 

1.   Fine  gravel    .... 
2.   Coarse  sand  .... 
3.   Medium  sand     .     .     . 
4.    Fine  sand  
5.   Very  fine  sand    .     .     . 
6.   Silt  

2.000-1.000 
1.000-0.500 
0.500-0.250 
0.250-0.100 
0.100-0.050 
0.050-0.005 

2.52 
1,723 
13,500 
123,600 
1,687,000 
65,000,000 

7.   Clay     

Less  than  0.005 

45,500,000,000 

A  soil  composed  entirely  of  particles  of  a  single  size  is 
never  found ;  hence  the  name  given  to  a  soil  type  depends 
on  the  relative  mixture  of  these  various  sizes.  The  terms 
most  commonly  used  for  these  mixtures  are:  (1)  coarse 
sand,  (2)  medium  sand,  (3)  fine  sand,  (4)  sandy  loam,  (5) 
loam,  (6)  silt  loam,  (7)  clay  loam,  and  (8)  clay.  Farmers, 
speaking  in  a  general  way,  usually  call  their  soil  sand, 
loam,  or  clay. 

Of  the  properties  of  the  soil  affected  by  texture,  prob- 
ably none  is  of  greater  practical  importance  than  the 
water-holding  capacity.  Moisture  is  held  in  thin  films 
around  the  soil  particles  and  the  quantity  that  can  be  re- 
tained depends  largely  on  the  surface  area  of  the  particles, 
which,  in  turn,  depends  on  the  size  of  the  particles.  This 
is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  a  coarse  sand  will  hold 
scarcely  15  per  cent  of  water,  whereas  a  clay  may  hold 
45  per  cent. 


Soils  61 


SOIL  STRUCTURE 

Structure  refers  to  the  arrangement  of  the  soil  particles, 
which  may  be  wedged  tightly  together  or  so  arranged  that 
there  is  considerable  air  space  between.  The  numerous 
sizes  of  particles  present  in  any  soil  make  possible  a  great 
difference  in  structure,  particularly  in  fine  soils.  Soil 
tilth,  which  has  such  great  practical  importance,  is 
determined  largely  by  its  structure,  or  the  grouping  of 
particles.  Soil  grains  packed  tightly  together  form  a  soil 
of  poor  tilth.  When  plowed,  such  a  soil  breaks  up  into 
clods  instead  of  falling  apart  in  granules  or  floccules.  A 
loose  structure  gives  lines  of  weakness  extending  in  every 
direction  through  the  soil.  When  this  condition  exists, 
the  soil  crumbles  readily,  but  when  the  opposite  condition 
is  found,  much  work  is  necessary  to  put  the  soil  in  good 
condition.  The  facts  that  sugar-beets  in  growing  expand 
greatly  and  that  they  require  considerable  air  make  very 
desirable  a  soil  with  a  good  structure. 

IMPROVING  SOIL  TILTH 

The  tilth  of  a  coarse-grained  soil  cannot  be  greatly  af- 
fected, since  it  is  always  fairly  good,  but  a  clay  requires 
constant  care  to  prevent  its  becoming  puddled.  Many 
farmers  have  learned  through  experience  that  by  culti- 
vating a  clay  soil  when  too  wet,  they  can  so  injure  the  tilth 
that  several  years  are  required  to  get  it  back  into  good 
condition.  Almost  anything  causing  a  movement  in  soil 
may  affect  its  tilth.  Among  the  common  factors  are: 
(1)  tillage,  (2)  the  growth  of  roots,  (3)  alternate  freezing 


62  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

and  thawing,  (4)  alternate  wetting  and  drying,  (5)  or- 
ganic matter,  (6)  soluble  salts,  (7)  animal  life,  and  (8) 
storms.  The  tilth  of  the  soil  is  the  result  of  a  combined 
action  of  a  number  of  these  factors,  all  of  which  improve 
it,  except  certain  kinds  of  storms  and  certain  soluble  salts 
like  sodium  carbonate. 


AIR  IN  THE  SOIL 

Oxygen  is  as  necessary  for  the  growth  of  plants  as  it  is 
for  that  of  animals.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  have  a 
fertile  soil  unless  there  are  spaces  through  which  air  can 
circulate.  Seeds  in  germinating,  and  roots  in  growing, 
require  oxygen  which  is  absorbed  while  carbon  dioxid  is 
given  off.  The  decay  of  organic  matter  uses  oxygen 
and  forms  carbon  dioxid  which  accumulates  in  the  soil 
air.  If  conditions  in  the  soil  do  not  favor  a  free  move- 
ment of  air,  the  oxygen  supply  soon  becomes  reduced  to 
a  point  at  which  plant  growth  is  retarded.  The  aeration 
of  the  soil  is  dependent  on  texture,  structure,  drainage, 
and  a  number  of  other  factors.  In  a  coarse  sand,  air 
moves  readily,  but  in  a  clay,  especially  if  it  is  compact, 
the  movement  is  slow.  Puddling  greatly  reduces  aeration, 
whereas  flocculating  the  soil  particles  into  groups  pro- 
motes the  ready  movement  of  air. 

A  water-logged  soil,  on  account  of  the  lack  of  oxygen, 
usually  has  a  low  crop-producing  power.  A  free  circu- 
lation of  air,  resulting  from  placing  drains  under  such  a 
soil,  is  in  part  responsible  for  the  increased  yields  that 
follow  drainage.  The  beneficial  nitrifying  and  nitrogen- 
fixing  bacteria  require  an  abundant  supply  of  oxygen  for 


Sails  63 

their  best  growth;    their  action  is  practically  discon- 
tinued when  the  air  supply  is  reduced  greatly. 


SOIL  HEAT 

The  temperature  of  the  soil  is  important  because  of  its 
influence  on  the  germination  of  seeds  and  on  the  growth  of 
plants,  and  also  because  of  its  effect  on  chemical  changes 
and  bacterial  action  in  the  soil.  When  a  soil  is  cold,  life 
in  it  is  dormant  and  chemical  action  is  reduced.  The 
earlier  a  soil  is  warmed  in  spring  and  the  later  it  is  kept 
warm  in  fall,  the  longer  is  the  growing  season.  This  is 
very  important  for  sugar-beets,  since  there  is  not  time 
during  a  short  season  to  store  large  quantities  of  sugar. 

Soil  heat  is  derived  largely  from  the  sun,  the  rays  of 
which  are  most  effective  when  striking  perpendicularly. 
A  south  slope,  therefore,  is  considerably  warmer  than  one 
facing  the  north.  A  sandy  soil  is  also  warmer  than  a 
clay.  On  account  of  the  high  specific  heat  of  water,  a 
wet  soil  is  much  slower  to  warm  up  in  spring  than  a  well- 
drained  soil.  The  high  evaporation  from  a  wet  soil  also 
reduces  the  temperature.  Such  factors  as  colors,  specific 
heat,  and  tillage  play  an  important  r61e  in  regulating  soil 
temperature. 

ORGANIC   MATTER 

The  chemical,  physical,  and  biological  conditions  of  the 
soil  are  greatly  influenced  by  organic  matter  because  it 
reacts  favorably  on  the  tilth,  the  water-holding  capacity, 
and  the  temperature  of  the  soil.  Through  its  decay,  or- 
ganic matter  increases  the  availability  of  mineral  matter 


64  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

and  hastens  desirable  chemical  changes  in  the  soil.  It  also 
makes  possible  the  work  of  bacteria  by  furnishing  them 
food. 

The  organic  matter  of  the  soil  is  derived  largely  from 
the  decay  of  roots,  leaves,  and  stems.  If  the  beet  tops 
and  crowns  are  left  in  the  field,  a  considerable  amount  of 
organic  matter  is  furnished.  In  arid  regions,  where  the 
growth  of  native  vegetation  is  light,  the  organic  content 
of  the  soil  is  low  and  requires  special  attention.  Indeed, 
the  getting  of  a  good  supply  of  humus  into  the  soil  is  one 
of  the  chief  problems  in  the  management  of  most  soils. 
Organic  matter  is  maintained  by  the  addition  of  farm 
manure  and  other  plant  and  animal  refuse  and  by  the 
raising  of  crops  to  be  plowed  under.  The  wise  sugar-beet 
farmer  will  use  large  quantities  of  stable  manure  and,  in 
his  rotation,  will  arrange  to  plow  under  some  leguminous 
crop  or  the  manure  resulting  from  it.  On  new  land,  it  is 
often  necessary  to  raise  clover  or  alfalfa  and  turn  under  a 
crop  before  beets  can  be  made  to  thrive. 

SOIL  MOISTURE 

No  factor  in  crop  production  is  more  important  than 
soil  moisture.  Every  plant  and  animal  requires  water 
for  its  life  and  growth.  Plants  may  live  a  considerable 
time  without  receiving  mineral  food,  but  if  water  is  with- 
held they  soon  wilt  and  die.  The  yield  of  beets  in  any 
particular  year  usually  is  a  reflection  of  the  moisture 
conditions  during  the  growing  season.  Even  in  humid 
regions,  the  lack  of  available  moisture  often  is  responsible 
for  a  failure  in  the  beet  crop.  On  more  than  half  of  the 


Smh  65 

tillable  surface  of  the  earth,  the  shortage  of  moisture  is 
the  chief  limiting  factor  concerned  in  crop  growth,  while 
in  parts  of  the  humid  regions  an  excess  of  water  in  the 
soil  prevents  the  cultivation  of  vast  areas  of  otherwise 
fertile  land.  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  soil  moisture 
is  worthy  of  the  most  careful  consideration. 

The  quantity  of  moisture  in  the  soil  is  not  so  stable  as 
the  mineral  constituents,  but  it  varies  from  season  to 
season  and  from  day  to  day.  More  is  being  added  from 
time  to  time,  and  losses  occur  through  a  number  of  chan- 
nels. Even  if  for  a  short  period  no  water  is  added  or  lost, 
a  constant  movement  is  going  on  with  a  tendency  to  es- 
tablish an  equilibrium  which  is  seldom  or  never  reached. 
Many  forces  are  at  work,  making  it  difficult  to  determine 
all  the  laws  by  which  soil  moisture  is  influenced.  The 
conditions  of  the  moisture  depend  largely  on  the  quan- 
tity present  and  the  nature  of  the  soil,  which  is  able  to 
hold  only  about  a  certain  amount  of  moisture.  When 
more  is  added,  it  percolates  rapidly.  As  the  quantity 
decreases,  the  tenacity  with  which  it  is  held  increases. 
A  sandy  soil  reaches  the  point  of  saturation  with  much  less 
water  than  does  a  clay.  The  condition  of  the  moisture, 
therefore,  is  not  always  the  same  with  a  given  percentage, 
but  varies  with  the  texture  of  the  soil.  The  water  of 
the  soil  is  usually  divided  into  three  classes,  determined 
by  the  percentage  present.  These  are:  (1)  free,  or 
gravitational,  (2)  capillary,  or  film,  and  (3)  hygroscopic 
water.  The  maintenance  in  the  soil  of  the  proper  moisture 
content  for  the  best  growth  of  crops  is  one  of  the  most 
difficult  phases  of  farming.  The  practical  side  of  this 
question  is  discussed  more  fully  in  Chapter  X. 


66  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


SOIL  ALKALI 

In  many  of  the  sugar-beet  areas  of  America,  a  condi- 
tion known  as  alkali  in  the  soil  is  met.  This  condition  is 
found  in  practically  all  arid  regions  and  results  from  the 
presence  of  large  quantities  of  soluble  material  in  the  soil, 
which  is  rendered  valueless  by  these  salts  if  they  are 
present  in  quantities  that  inhibit  crop  growth.  Many 
soils  containing  considerable  alkali  will  raise  good  crops 
until  stronger  concentrations  are  brought  near  the  sur- 
face by  evaporation  of  large  quantities  of  water.  In  fact, 
some  farmers  contend  that  sugar-beets  do  better  if  a  small 
amount  of  alkali  is  present.  It  is  well  known  that  after 
beets  get  a  good  start  they  are  able  to  endure  more  alkali 
than  many  other  common  field  crops.  Experiments,1 
however,  have  shown  that  young  beet  seedlings  are  rather 
tender,  and  if  much  alkali  is  present  near  the  surface 
when  the  seed  is  planted,  germination  will  be  poor. 

In  considering  a  tract  of  land  for  sugar-beet  production, 
a  careful  survey  of  alkali  conditions  should  be  made,  since 
new  land  is  not  likely  to  show  the  salt  so  much  as  is  old, 
particularly  when  careless  methods  of  irrigation  are  used. 
In  the  management  of  soils  containing  rather  large  quan- 
tities of  soluble  salts,  even  though  toxic  limits  have  not 
been  reached,  the  farmer  should  know  how  to  prevent 
accumulation  at  the  surface.  He  should  also  make  pro- 
vision to  reclaim  the  land  when  such  a  step  becomes 
necessary. 

1  Hams,  F.  S.  "  Effect  of  Alkali  Salts  in  Soils  on  the  Ger- 
mination and  Growth  of  Crops."  Jour.  Agr.  Research.  Vol.  V. 
pp.  1-52  (Oct.  4,  1915). 


PLATE  VII.  —  Top,  an  alkali  spot,  showing  a  soil  condition  unfavorable 
to  sugar-beets;  center,  a  full  crop  of  alfalfa  being  plowed  under  to  pre- 
pare the  land  for  sugar-beets ;  usually  corn  or  potatoes  follows  alfalfa 
a  year  before  beets  are  planted ;  below,  plowing  beet  land,  Colorado. 
(Photo  L.  A.  Moorhouse.) 


Soils  67 

Any  soluble  salt  present  in  sufficient  quantities  may  be 
considered  an  alkali.  The  salts  most  commonly  causing 
injury  are  sodium  chloride,  or  common  salt ;  sodium  sul- 
fate,  or  Glauber's  salt;  sodium  carbonate,  or  salsoda; 
and  magnesium  sulfate,  or  epsom  salt.  In  addition 
to  these,  sodium  nitrate  and  a  number  of  other  salts 
cause  injury  in  some  districts.  Sodium  chloride  is 
injurious  to  beets  when  present  in  lower  concentra- 
tions than  any  of  the  other  salts  mentioned ;  sodium 
carbonate,  or  black  alkali,  injures  the  soil  when  present 
in  low  concentrations  by  dissolving  the  organic  matter  and 
causing  a  hard  crust  to  form.  Beets  will  grow  in  rela- 
tively large  quantities  of  the  sulfates. 

The  injury  done  to  crops  by  alkali  salts  results  largely 
from  the  shutting  off  of  water  from  the  plant  on  account 
of  the  soil  solution's  having  a  greater  concentration  than 
the  plant-cells.  By  the  law  of  osmosis,  water  passes 
from  the  dilute  to  the  more  concentrated  solution.  In  a 
normal  soil  the  root  has  a  cell-sap  with  a  higher  concen- 
tration than  the  soil  solution ;  hence  water  passes  from  the 
soil  into  the  plant.  When  the  soil  solution  is  made  too 
concentrated,  water  passes  out  of  the  roots  into  the  soil 
and  the  plant  dies. 

The  permanent  reclamation  of  alkali  lands  rests  on  the 
removal  of  the  excessive  salts  by  drainage.  The  methods 
of  accomplishing  this  are  discussed  in  Chapter  X.  Where 
the  accumulation  of  alkali  results  from  the  over-irriga- 
tion of  higher  lands,  the  remedy  is  obviously  the  preven- 
tion of  percolating  water,  which  carries  soluble  salts  from 
the  higher  and  concentrates  them  in  lower  lands.  Any 
practice  that  reduces  evaporation,  such  as  cultivation, 


68  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

cropping,  or  the  use  of  farm  manure,  tends  to  reduce  the 
accumulation  of  these  salts. 


ACID  SOILS 

Soil  acidity  is  not  nearly  so  serious  a  problem  in  the 
sugar-beet  areas  of  the  country  as  is  alkali,  but  in  some 
districts  it  occurs.  Sugar-beets,  in  common  with  most 
ordinary  crops,  require  for  their  best  growth  an  alkaline, 
or  basic,  reaction  of  the  soil.  This  is  not  the  condition 
mentioned  above  as  alkali,  but  refers  to  the  chemical 
reaction.  Such  important  crops  as  alfalfa  can  hardly  be 
made  to  grow  on  an  acid  soil,  since  the  bacteria  that 
fix  nitrogen  in  connection  with  growth  on  the  roots  of 
these  plants  require  a  basic  reaction.  Acid  soils  are 
most  often  found  in  humid  regions  where  the  basic  ele- 
ments of  the  soil  minerals  have  been  leached  out,  leaving 
the  acid  part  behind ;  in  swamp  lands  where  the  decay 
of  large  quantities  of  vegetable  matter  also  results  in 
an  acid  condition  due  to  the  accumulation  of  organic 
acids. 

An  acid  soil  is  indicated  by  the  growth  of  a  number 
of  plants,  among  which  are  common  sorrel,  sour  dock, 
and  horsetail,  also  by  the  failure  of  alfalfa  and  other  leg- 
umes to  do  well.  Blue  litmus  paper  and  a  number  of 
other  laboratory  tests  may  be  used  in  determining  acidity 
and  the  amount  of  lime  necessary  to  correct  the  condition. 
The  kind  of  lime  to  use  depends  on  conditions;  burned 
lime  and  ground  limestone  both  accomplish  the  result. 
Ground  limestone,  however,  is  usually  cheaper  and,  if 
fine  enough,  is  effective. 


Sails 


PLANT-FOOD   IN  THE  SOIL 

The  method  by  which  plants  secure  their  food  from 
the  soil  has  been  known  less  than  a  century.  From  the 
time  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  down  to  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  investigators  sought 
to  find  some  one  substance  in  the  soil  that  was  the  real 
food  of  plants.  At  different  times  it  was  thought  to  be 
fire,  water,  niter,  oil,  and  many  other  materials.  During 
this  period  all  plant-food  was  supposed  to  come  from  the 
soil ;  it  was  not  known  that  the  greater  part  of  it  comes 
from  the  air. 

Of  the  ten  elements  required  by  plants,  seven,  in  ad- 
dition to  those  obtained  from  water,  come  from  the  soil. 
These  are  potassium,  phosphorus,  calcium,  magnesium, 
iron,  sulfur,  and  nitrogen.  A  number  of  non-essential 
elements,  including  sodium,  chlorine,  and  silicon,  are  also 
taken  up  by  most  plants.  All  crops  require  the  same 
elements  for  their  growth,  although  they  do  not  use  them 
in  the  same  proportion.  Sugar-beets  and  potatoes  use 
relatively  large  quantities  of  potassium,  the  gram  crops 
require  considerable  phosphorus,  while  alfalfa  and  clover 
use  more  calcium. 

Soils  are  made  up  largely  of  insoluble  material  of  no 
food  value  to  plants.  The  amount  of  actual  plant-food 
in  the  soil  is  comparatively  small,  but  since  plants  do  not 
use  large  quantities  of  this  food,  the  supply  of  most  of  the 
elements  is  sufficient  for  crop  production.  Only  a  small 
part  of  the  total  plant-food  of  the  soil  is  available  during 
any  one  year.  Roots  penetrate  every  part  of  the  surface 
soil,  but  they  can  absorb  only  the  material  that  is  in  solu- 


70  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

tion.    The  carbon  dioxid  given  off  by  roots  assists  in 
dissolving  the  minerals  of  the  soil. 

The  making  available  of  reserve  plant-foods  as  fast  as 
needed  by  crops  is  one  of  the  chief  problems  of  soil  man- 
agement. This  is  done :  (1)  by  tillage,  which  aids  the 
weathering  agencies  in  their  action  on  soil  particles;  (2) 
by  drainage,  which  allows  air  to  circulate  more  freely 
through  the  soil;  (3)  by  plowing  under  organic  matter, 
which  in  decaying  helps  to  make  the  minerals  soluble; 
and  (4)  by  numerous  other  less  important  means.  The 
nitrogen  present  in  the  soil  is  made  available  by  nitrifica- 
tion, which  is  favored  by  tillage  and  by  a  desirable  mois- 
ture-content. Plant-foods  that  are  likely  to  be  scarce  are 
discussed  hi  Chapter  VI. 

SOIL  BACTERIA 

The  soil  is  not  a  mass  of  dead  matter,  but  is  filled  with 
myriads  of  living  organisms,  which  are  constantly  trans- 
forming its  compounds  and  renewing  its  productiveness. 
These  organisms  work  on  the  bodies  of  plants  and  dead 
animals  and  make  the  material  composing  them  useful  to 
growing  plants.  All  life  on  the  earth  is  dependent  for  its 
continuance  on  these  unseen  organisms,  but  for  whose 
renewing  action  the  available  plant-food  would  in  time 
be  consumed,  all  plant  life  would  then  cease,  and  animals 
would  soon  follow. 

The  most  important  of  these  organisms  of  the  soil  are 
the  bacteria,  the  existence  of  which  was  discovered  in 
1695.  They  are  so  small  that  it  would  take  about  25,000 
of  them  placed  side  by  side  to  reach  an  inch.  They  in- 


Sails  71 

crease  very  rapidly  when  conditions  are  favorable.  Many 
of  the  diseases  of  plants  and  animals  are  caused  by  bac- 
teria. This  does  not  mean  that  all  are  harmful;  many 
are  decidedly  beneficial. 

These  germs  cause  the  decay  of  the  coarse  organic 
matter  of  the  soil  and  assist  in  the  formation  of  the  more 
useful  humus.  They  are  exceedingly  important  in  con- 
nection with  the  nitrification,  that  is,  with  the  transfor- 
mation of  nitrogen  from  the  unavailable  form  to  the 
nitrates,  which  are  taken  up  by  crops.  Certain  forms  of 
bacteria  also  assist  in  fixing  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  and 
in  making  it  into  a  food  for  plants.  This  is  done  mainly 
in  connection  with  the  legume  crops,  although  some  forms 
fix  nitrogen  without  the  aid  of  legumes. 

SELECTING  A   SUGAR-BEET  SOIL 

As  previously  stated,  sugar-beets  do  not  absolutely  re- 
quire any  given  kind  of  soil ;  they  are  successfully  raised 
on  almost  every  type  of  soil  when  other  conditions  are 
favorable.  This  does  not  mean  that  all  soils  are  equally 
well  suited  to  raising  the  crop.  Usually  it  does  not  pay 
to  raise  beets  on  any  but  well-adapted  soils. 

A  number  of  conditions  must  be  strictly  avoided.  One 
of  these  is  a  hardpan  near  the  surface  that  would  inter- 
fere with  the  deep  rooting  of  the  beets.  Another  condi- 
tion to  be  avoided  is  a  water-logged  soil.  Of  course 
this  can  usually  be  overcome  by  drainage,  but  as  a  rule 
beets  should  not  be  planted  until  after  the  drain  is  in 
operation. 

So  far  as  texture  is  concerned,  a  loam  is  best  adapted 


72  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

to  beets,  for  it  is  easy  to  work  and  allows  a  ready  move- 
ment of  air.  At  the  same  time,  it  will  hold  sufficient 
moisture  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  beet  plant.  A  sand, 
although  easy  to  work,  is  likely  to  be  lacking  in  fertility  and 
water-holding  capacity.  A  clay,  though  having  a  high 
water-holding  capacity,  is  likely  to  be  difficult  to  work 
and  is  usually  not  sufficiently  well  aerated.  Depth, 
proper  texture,  fertility,  and  desirable  water  relations  de- 
serve careful  attention. 


CHAPTER  VI 
MANURING  AND  ROTATIONS 

THE  fact  that  sugar-beets  may  often  be  raised  for 
several  years  on  the  same  land  without  a  decrease  in 
yield  has  led  many  farmers  to  believe  that  the  productivity 
of  the  land  can  be  maintained  without  either  the  appli- 
cation of  fertilizers  or  changing  the  crop.  The  opposite 
point  of  view,  that  beets  are  very  hard  on  the  land,  is  some- 
tunes  held.  Neither  of  these  extremes  is  true.  Where 
sugar-beets  are  raised  continuously,  a  certain  amount  of 
food  is  carried  away.  Particularly  is  this  the  case  if 
the  tops  and  crowns  are  removed,  since  they  contain  the 
great  part  of  the  mineral  salts  of  the  entire  plant.  An 
unreplenished  deposit  of  money  in  the  bank,  no  matter 
how  large,  will  in  time  be  exhausted  if  continually  drawn 
on.  The  plant-foods  in  the  soil  may  be  considered  in 
much  the  same  way. 

Fortunately  most  soils  on  which  sugar-beets  are  raised 
in  America  are  high  in  mineral  plant-foods ;  further,  very 
little  of  this  mineral  matter  is  lost  if  the  by-products  are 
returned  to  the  land.  Nevertheless,  maintaining  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  and  thereby  insuring  a  high  yield  is 
one  of  the  chief  problems  of  sugar-beet  production. 

73 


74 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


PLANT-FOOD  REQUIREMENTS  OF  BEETS 

As  previously  stated,  all  crops  use  the  same  foods,  but 
they  do  not  use  these  foods  in  the  same  proportion,  and  as 
a  result,  the  various  crops  have  different  fertilizer  needs. 
Of  the  seven  mineral  foods  used  by  crops,  all  are  present 
in  most  soils  in  sufficient  quantity  to  meet  the  needs 
except  nitrogen,  potash,  and  phosphorus.  In  a  few 
exceptional  soils  other  minerals  are  lacking,  but  they  form 
no  important  need.  The  following  table  gives  the  amount 
of  these  scarce  plant-foods  used  by  sugar-beets  in  com- 
parison with  other  crops : 

TABLE  IV.  —  MINERAL  FOODS  REMOVED  FROM  THE  SOIL  BY 

CROPS 


CROP 

YIELD 

NITROGEN 

POTASH 

PHOSPHORIC 
ACID 

Sugar-beets 

10  tons 

30.0  pounds 

70.0  pounds 

14.0  pounds 

Potatoes     . 

6  tons 

47.0  pounds 

76.5  pounds 

21.5  pounds 

Wheat  .     . 

30  bushels 

48.0  pounds 

28.8  pounds 

21.1  pounds 

Barley   .     . 

40  bushels 

48.0  pounds 

35.7  pounds 

20.7  pounds 

Oats  .     .     . 

45  bushels 

55.0  pounds 

43.1  pounds 

19.4  pounds 

Corn      .     . 

40  bushels 

56.0  pounds 

23.0  pounds 

2  1.0  pounds 

Meadow 

hay    .     . 

1.5  tons 

49.0  pounds 

50.9  pounds 

12.3  pounds 

Red  clover 

2.0  tons 

102.0  pounds 

83.4  pounds 

24.9  pounds 

This  table  shows  that  sugar-beets  use  relatively  large 
quantities  of  potash  but  not  so  much  nitrogen  or  phos- 
phoric acid. 

Studies  of  the  effect  of  the  various  fertilizers  on  growth 
have  shown  that  excessive  nitrogen  stimulates  leaf  growth. 


Manuring  and  Rotations  75 

Potash  is  closely  associated  with  photosynthesis  in  the 
formation  of  sugar  in  the  leaves,  whereas  phosphoric 
acid  is  required  in  large  quantities  in  the  formation  of 
seeds.  This  may  explain  in  part  the  high  potash  re- 
quirements of  sugar-beets,  since  work  must  be  carried  on 
in  the  leaves  in  producing  sugar. 

WAYS   OF  MAINTAINING   SOIL  FERTILITY 

Various  means  may  be  used  in  maintaining  the  pro- 
ductivity of  the  land.  Probably  no  system  is  complete 
that  does  not  provide  for  the  return  to  the  land  of  at  least 
a  part  of  the  mineral  matter  removed  by  the  crop.  This 
may  be  accomplished  by  the  use  of  barnyard  manure  or 
by  the  addition  of  the  substances  in  the  form  of  com- 
mercial fertilizers.  The  plowing  under  of  green-manure 
may  also  help  in  making  available  elements  contained  in 
the  soil  in  large  quantities,  but  in  a  condition  that  the 
crop  cannot  make  use  of  them.  In  cases  in  which  legumes 
are  used  for  green-manure,  there  is  also  a  direct  addition 
of  plant-food  in  the  shape  of  nitrogen.  Every  good  sys- 
tem of  keeping  the  soil  productive  will  include  a  rotation 
so  arranged  that  the  maximum  returns  will  be  secured 
and  that  will,  at  the  same  time,  maintain  the  soil  in 
good  condition.  Under  most  conditions,  the  practical 
method  of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  sugar-beet  soil  will 
combine  all  the  ways  mentioned.  Farm-yard  manure 
will  be  supplemented  by  the  wise  use,  in  a  commercial 
form,  of  elements  necessary  to  balance  the  needs  of  the 
crop  on  any  particular  soil;  and  crop  rotations  will  be 
practiced  in  which  some  legumes  will  be  plowed  under  as 


76  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

a  green-manure.  With  this  combination,  the  produc- 
tivity of  the  soil  should  not  only  be  kept  up  but  should 
actually  be  increased. 


HOW  TO  DETERMINE  FERTILIZER  NEEDS 

In  order  that  there  may  be  no  waste  of  material,  it  is 
important  to  know  just  what  are  the  fertilizer  needs  of 
the  soil.  This  problem  is  not  so  simple  as  it  might  at 
first  seem  to  be.  Soon  after  the  methods  by  which 
plants  feed  and  the  elements  they  require  from  the  soil 
were  discovered,  it  was  thought  that  by  making  a  chemical 
analysis  of  the  soil,  its  fertilizer  requirements  could  be 
determined  at  once.  It  soon  was  found,  however,  that  so 
many  factors  entered  into  the  problem  that  this  method 
could  not  be  relied  on.  For  example,  an  analysis  may 
show  a  soil  to  be  rich  in  potassium  and  at  the  same  time 
this  soil  may  give  a  marked  response  to  the  addition  of 
potash  fertilizers.  This  is  true  for  all  plant-food  ele- 
ments. In  some  cases,  the  elements  shown  by  a  chemical 
analysis  to  be  lowest  in  the  soil  are  the  ones  that  give 
least  returns  when  added  as  fertilizers.  Numerous  exper- 
iments have  shown  that  an  analysis  of  the  soil  is  useful 
when  taken  with  other  tests,  but  that  alone  it  is  not 
sufficient. 

Field  tests  carried  over  long  periods  of  time  have  been 
found  necessary  in  making  a  thorough  diagnosis  of  the 
needs  of  a  soil.  These  may  be  supplemented  by  pot 
tests  and  by  chemical  analyses.  A  complete  understand- 
ing of  a  soil  cannot  be  obtained  without  a  combination 
of  field  and  laboratory  tests.  When  all  this  information 


Manuring  and  Rotations  77 

is  brought  together  and  carefully  studied,  a  fairly  ac- 
curate judgment  of  the  soil  requirements  may  be  made. 
The  practice  of  applying  any  kind  of  fertilizer  the  dealer 
may  have  for  sale,  without  making  a  thorough  investi- 
gation, cannot  be  too  strongly  condemned. 

COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  FOR  BEETS 

In  some  regions  where  an  abundance  of  farm  manure  is 
available,  little  or  no  commercial  fertilizer  may  be  needed 
for  beets.  There  are  many  sections,  however,  where  the 
supply  of  manure  is  insufficient.  In  these  places  com- 
mercial fertilizers  will  find  increased  use.  The  kind  of 
fertilizer  will  of  course  depend  largely  on  soil  conditions. 
From  Table  IV  it  is  evident  that  the  sugar-beet  plant 
uses  relatively  large  quantities  of  potassium,  which  means 
that  sugar-beet  fertilizers  should  be  well  supplied  with 
this  element.  After  this  requirement  is  satisfied,  an 
effort  should  be  made  to  supply  a  well-balanced  fer- 
tilizer for  the  average  soil.  Voorhees  1  shows  that  sugar- 
beets  grown  on  light  soils  often  require  potash,  while  on 
heavier  loamy  soils  this  element  is  not  needed.  He  brings 
out  the  fact  that  fertilizers  that  produce  too  rapid  or  too 
prolonged  growth  tend  to  reduce  the  percentage  of  sugar. 
Phosphoric  acid  is  one  of  the  most  necessary  constituents 
to  produce  a  large  and  rapid  leaf  growth  in  the  early  part 
of  the  season  when  the  plant  is  preparing  itself  for  the 
storage  of  sugar.  This  fertilizer  should,  therefore,  be 
present  in  comparatively  large  quantities  in  the  soluble 
form  during  the  early  period  of  growth. 

1  Voorhees,  E.  B.,  "Fertilizers,"  pp.  235-240. 


78  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

While  applying  nitrogen  in  a  form  to  encourage  steady 
and  continuous  growth  would  result  in  a  large  yield,  it 
would  also  produce  beets  low  in  sugar.  In  order  to  en- 
courage the  desirable  early  growth,  nitrogen  should  be 
supplied  largely  in  the  readily  available  form  in  the 
spring  before  planting;  organic,  or  slow-acting,  forms 
should  not  be  applied  at  that  time. 

When  beets  are  raised  for  stock  feed,  fertilizing  should 
be  done  in  such  a  way  that  rapid  and  continuous  growth 
is  secured.  This  is  accomplished  by  large  applications  of 
nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  throughout  the  season, 
especially  the  former.  The  liberal  use  of  farm  manure 
would  be  desirable  in  this  connection,  especially  on  heavy 
soils.  On  light  soils  all  the  fertilizer  elements  could  be 
supplied  as  commercial  fertilizers. 

A  discussion  of  the  sources  of  the  various  fertilizer 
elements  follows. 

Nitrogen. 

The  most  expensive  of  all  the  fertilizer  elements  is 
nitrogen.  The  supply  of  this  element  is  also  limited. 
Formerly,  it  was  obtained  in  the  form  of  guano,  which  is 
manure  and  decayed  bodies  of  birds,  but  this  supply  is 
now  practically  exhausted.  At  present  the  chief  source 
is  the  beds  of  sodium  nitrate,  or  Chile  saltpeter,  found 
in  Chile.  It  lies  near  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  great 
beds,  but  is  so  mixed  with  rock  and  earth  that  the  leach- 
ing out  of  the  salt  is  necessary  before  it  is  ready  for  market. 
Nitrogen  in  the  form  of  sodium  nitrate  is  directly  avail- 
able to  plants. 

Ammonium    sulfate  is  another    important    source  of 


Manuring  and  Rotations  79 

nitrogen.  In  making  coal-gas  by  the  distillation  of  coal, 
a  quantity  of  ammonia  is  given  off.  The  gas  is  passed 
through  sulfuric  acid  in  which  the  ammonia  is  removed 
and  ammonium  sulfate  formed.  This  salt  is  about  20 
per  cent  nitrogen. 

By  means  of  electricity  and  in  other  ways,  it  is  possible 
to  combine  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  in  such  a  manner  that 
it  can  be  used  as  a  fertilizer.  The  chief  products  of  these 
processes  are  calcium  nitrate  and  calcium  cyanamid.  The 
main  difficulty  in  the  way  of  using  these  fertilizers  more 
widely  is  the  lack  of  cheap  power  which  is  required  in 
their  manufacture. 

Many  animal  products  are  used  for  their  nitrogen. 
Dried  blood,  dried  flesh,  ground  fish,  tankage,  hoof-and- 
horn  meal,  and  wool  and  hair  wastes  are  all  used.  The 
availability  of  nitrogen  in  these  compounds  decreases 
about  in  the  order  named.  The  nitrogen  of  dried  blood 
is  available  at  once,  whereas  in  leather  and  hair  it  becomes 
available  slowly. 

It  is  probable  that  the  future  supply  of  nitrogen  will 
come  more  and  more  from  the  use  of  leguminous  plants 
rather  than  from  the  addition  to  the  soil  of  material  from 
the  outside.  The  supply  of  these  materials  is  diminishing, 
but  there  is  no  limit  to  the  use  that  may  be  made  of  these 
nitrogen-gathering  crops. 

Phosphorus. 

Fertilizers  yielding  phosphorus  are  obtained  from  both 
organic  and  mineral  sources.  Bones  in  various  forms  are 
extensively  used.  Formerly  they  were  used  chiefly  raw, 
both  ground  and  unground;  now  most  of  the  bone  is 


80  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

steamed  or  burned  to  remove  fat  and  nitrogenous  ma- 
terials which  are  used  for  other  purposes.  The  fine 
grinding  of  bone  makes  its  phosphorus  more  readily  avail- 
able. Tankage  relatively  high  in  bone  is  used  largely  for 
its  phosphorus;  if  high  in  flesh  scraps  it  is  valuable  for 
its  nitrogen.  Bone  is  sometimes  treated  with  sulfuric 
acid  to  render  its  phosphorus  more  available. 

Mineral  phosphorus  is  found  in  several  kinds  of  rock, 
which  usually  have  the  phosphoric  acid  in  combination 
with  lime,  iron,  and  aluminum.  The  presence  of  the 
last  two  elements  reduces  the  availability  of  the  phos- 
phorus. Rock  phosphates  are  used  in  various  ways. 
Formerly  practically  all  of  the  rock  was  treated  with 
sulfuric  acid  to  form  super-phosphate,  or  acid  phosphate 
as  it  is  often  called;  but  of  late  years  the  use  of  finely 
ground  raw  rock-phosphate  has  increased,  especially  in 
soils  rich  in  organic  matter.  The  acid  phosphate  is  doubt- 
less more  immediately  available  than  the  raw  rock,  but 
it  is  also  much  more  expensive. 

In  the  manufacture  of  steel  from  pig-iron,  much  phos- 
phorus is  removed  with  the  basic  slag,  called  Thomas 
slag.  It  is  often  ground  and  used  as  a  fertilizer. 

Potassium. 

Most  of  the  potash  fertilizers  used  in  the  world  have  in 
the  past  come  from  the  Stassfurt  deposits  in  Germany. 
Here  many  minerals  rich  in  potash  are  found.  Some  of 
these  are  ground  and  put  directly  on  the  land ;  others  are 
leached  with  water  to  concentrate  them  before  being 
used.  Kainit  and  silvinit  are  among  the  most  common 
of  these  minerals. 


Manuring  and  Rotations  81 

Wood  ashes  have  for  generations  been  known  to  be  high 
in  potash.  They  are  often  applied  directly  to  land,  but 
are  sometimes  leached  to  obtain  the  potash  in  a  more 
concentrated  form.  In  some  countries  where  sunshine 
is  abundant,  sea  water  is  evaporated  and  potassium  ob- 
tained by  fractional  crystallization.  During  the  last 
few  years  much  potash  has  been  obtained  from  kelp,  which 
is  harvested  in  the  sea  with  special  boats.  This  is  a 
promising  source  of  potash. 

The  mineral  alunite  is  also  being  used  to  a  considerable 
extent  as  a  source  of  potash.  Rather  extensive  beds  occur 
in  Utah  and  other  parts  of  the  West.  Other  minerals, 
such  as  orthoclase  feldspar,  have  a  rather  high  potash- 
content,  but  cheap  methods  of  making  it  available  have 
not  yet  been  developed. 

INDIRECT  FERTILIZERS 

Many  soils,  particularly  in  humid  regions,  have  an  acid 
reaction  which  is  not  conducive  to  the  best  growth  of 
most  crops.  It  is  necessary  to  neutralize  this  acidity  be- 
fore sugar-beets  will  thrive.  This  is  best  done  by  the  use 
of  some  form  of  lime.  Burned  lime  has  been  used  ex- 
tensively, but  it  is  gradually  giving  way  to  finely  ground 
limestone  which  is  much  easier  to  handle  and  much 
cheaper.  The  effectiveness  of  limestone  depends  to  a 
great  extent  on  the  fineness  of  grinding. 

Many  substances  are  added  to  the  soil  because  of  their 
stimulating  action.  Among  the  most  common  of  these 
are  common  salt,  gypsum,  iron  sulfate,  soot,  and  man- 
ganese salts.  It  may  be  advisable  to  use  some  of  these 

€ 


82  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

materials  in  special  cases,  but  their  general  use  is  not 
recommended,  since  they  add  no  plant-food  and  their 
temporary  benefit  may  have  a  later  and  undesired  re- 
action. 

HOME-MIXING  OF  FERTILIZERS 

Many  farmers  would  rather  pay  more  for  fertilizers 
that  are  already  mixed  than  to  take  the  trouble  of  mix- 
ing them.  This  is  largely  because  they  do  not  realize  how 
much  more  they  have  to  pay  for  the  various  elements 
when  purchased  in  the  commercial  brands  of  fertilizer 
than  if  obtained  as  the  simple  fertilizing  materials,  such  as 
sodium  nitrate,  acid  phosphate,  and  potassium  sulfate. 

Fertilizer  manufacturers  possess  no  special  secrets  that 
cannot  be  learned  by  any  farmer  who  will  study  the 
subject  a  little.  It  is  a  poor  policy  to  pay  hundreds  of 
dollars  every  year  for  a  fertilizer  about  which  nothing  is 
known  except  what  is  told  by  a  salesman.  Better  economy 
would  lead  the  farmer  to  spend  a  few  dollars  buying  books 
on  the  subject,  as  the  information  obtained  from  any 
good  book  on  fertilizers  may  make  possible  a  saving  of 
25  to  50  per  cent  of  the  fertilizer  bill.  Any  farmer  can, 
with  but  little  expense,  prepare  a  place  in  which  to  mix 
fertilizers.  Then  by  purchasing  the  materials  best 
suited  to  his  conditions,  he  can  mix  them  himself  and 
thereby  obtain  a  much  more  effective  fertilizer  at  the  same 
cost. 

FARM  MANURE  FOR  SUGAR-BEETS 

In  every  beet-producing  section  an  effort  should  be 
made  to  utilize  fully  all  farm  manure  that  can  be  obtained. 


Manuring  and  Rotations  83 

This  is  the  surest  means  of  preserving  soil  fertility.  Prac- 
tically every  farm  produces  a  quantity  of  this  by-product 
of  animal  husbandry,  and  a  wise  use  of  it  is  fundamental 
to  permanent  agriculture.  Since  the  very  dawn  of  history 
the  excreta  of  animals  have  been  used  as  fertilizer.  Al- 
though for  a  long  time  little  was  known  of  the  way  in 
which  it  improved  the  soil,  the  increased  yield  of  crops 
was  evident.  Manure  is  now  known  to  benefit  the  soil 
by  adding  directly  a  quantity  of  plant-food,  by  increas- 
ing the  organic  matter,  and  by  aiding  the  work  of  de- 
sirable organisms.  It  may  not  in  all  cases  be  a  com- 
plete and  well-balanced  fertilizer  for  beets  in  all  soils,  but 
it  can  always  be  recommended  with  safety.  Where  sugar- 
beets  have  been  raised  for  any  length  of  time,  farmers 
have  learned  the  great  value  of  manure.  Probably  no 
other  common  field  crop  has  done  more  to  promote  a 
careful  use  of  farm  manure. 

The  amount  to  apply  depends  on  that  available,  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  and  the  rotation  used.  When  beets 
are  raised  in  a  regular  rotation,  the  manure  can  usually 
be  applied  with  greater  profit  to  the  sugar-beet  crop  than 
to  almost  any  other  crop  in  the  rotation.  An  applica- 
tion of  five  to  twenty  tons  to  the  acre  usually  gives  good 
results ;  ten  tons  is  a  fair  application.  The  amount  de- 
pends in  part  on  the  kind  of  manure.  Quality  is  influ- 
enced by  the  kind  of  animal  producing  it  and  by  a  number 
of  other  factors.  Manure  produced  by  poultry  and  sheep 
is  concentrated  and  dry;  that  produced  by  cattle  and 
horses  contains  more  moisture  and  coarse  material.  The 
manure  of  any  kind  of  animal  is  influenced  by  the  kind 
of  food  it  eats  and  by  its  age  and  work.  Old  animals 


84  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

that  do  but  little  work  and  eat  much  rich  food  produce 
the  best  manure. 

Liquid  manure  is  richer  in  plant-food  elements  than 
the  solid,  but  it  lacks  the  organic  matter  so  beneficial  to 
most  soils.  Good  husbandry  requires  the  saving  of  both 
the  liquid  and  the  solid  manure,  which  can  easily  be  kept 
together  if  sufficient  bedding  material  is  used  to  absorb 
the  liquid. 

Handling  farm  manure. 

Experience  has  demonstrated  that  the  best  way  to 
handle  manure  is  to  haul  it  out  and  spread  it  on  the 
land  while  it  is  fresh.  This  prevents  any  serious  loss  from 
leaching  or  fermentation,  which  are  the  methods  by  which 
manure  deteriorates.  When  left  carelessly  exposed  to 
the  weather  for  six  months,  manure  loses  about  half  its 
value.  This  loss  can  be  overcome  in  a  large  measure  by 
proper  storage  without  expensive  equipment.  The  plant- 
foods  contained  in  manure  are  readily  soluble  and  but 
little  rain  is  required  to  dissolve  and  carry  them  away. 
If  manure  is  left  scattered  in  the  open  yard,  -it  is  wet 
through  by  every  rain  and  the  greater  part  of  the  plant- 
food  is  washed  out  before  the  season  is  over.  If  manure 
has  to  be  stored  for  any  length  of  time,  it  should  be  piled  so 
that  it  cannot  be  leached.  This  may  be  done  by  putting 
it  under  cover  or  by  making  the  pile  of  proper  shape. 

Manure  is  filled  with  bacteria  and  fungi  which  are 
constantly  at  work.  Some  of  these  make  the  manure 
heat,  causing  a  loss  of  considerable  nitrogen.  Since  these 
destructive  organisms  work  best  in  manure  that  is  fairly 
loose  and  dry,  their  action  is  most  easily  prevented  by 


Manuring  and  Rotations  85 

compacting  the  manure  to  exclude  air  and  by  keeping  it 
moist.  Many  farmers  haul  manure  to  the  field  and  leave 
it  standing  for  months  in  small  piles.  This  practice 
allows  destructive  organisms  to  work  rapidly.  More- 
over, the  leaching  of  the  piles  causes  an  irregular  dis- 
tribution of  plant-food  in  the  soil.  The  idea  that  the 
manure  should  not  be  spread  until  the  farmer  is  ready  to 
plow  it  under  is  erroneous. 

Manure  must  be  stored  during  a  part  of  the  year  if 
no  vacant  land  is  available  for  spreading  it.  Storage  may 
be  in  special  manure-pits,  under  sheds,  or  in  the  open 
yard.  Expensive  pits  probably  do  not  pay,  but  simple 
devices  to  assist  in  handling  manure  are  doubtless  good. 
When  an  open  yard  is  used,  the  neatest  and  most  sani- 
tary kind  of  pile,  as  well  as  the  one  allowing  least  loss,  is 
one  with  vertical  sides  and  with  edges  slightly  higher  than 
the  middle.  The  manure  that  is  produced  each  day 
should  be  put  on  the  pile  and  should  be  kept  compact 
and  moist.  A  manure-spreader  is  a  great  time-saver 
and  makes  possible  a  more  even  distribution  than  can  be 
made  by  hand. 

GREEN-MANURES 

The  plowing  under  of  growing  plants  to  increase  the 
organic  content  of  the  soil  has  been  practiced  for  gen- 
erations. This  practice  has  been  found  favorable,  par- 
ticularly in  preparing  new  land  for  sugar-beets.  The 
decay  of  plants  helps  to  make  available  the  mineral  foods 
of  the  soil,  and  to  correct  physical  defects.  Plate  VII. 

Legumes  make  the  best  green-manure  crops,  since  they 
increase  the  nitrogen  supply  by  taking  this  element  from 


86  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

the  air  and  combining  it  in  such  a  way  that  it  can  be 
used  by  other  plants.  The  clovers,  vetches,  cowpeas,  soy- 
beans, field  peas,  and  alfalfa  are  all  plowed  under  as  green- 
manures.  The  small  grains  are  also  much  used  for  this 
purpose.  A  worn-out  or  poor  soil  will  usually  produce  a 
fair  growth  of  rye  which,  .when  plowed  under,  puts  the 
soil  in  a  condition  to  raise  other  crops.  For  beet  land 
under  irrigation,  probably  no  crop  will  be  better  as  a 
green-manure  than  alfalfa  which  is  used  in  a  rotation 
wherein  the  last  crop  of  alfalfa  is  plowed  under. 

KOTATIONS 

Reasons  for  crop  rotations. 

Some  sort  of  crop  rotation  has  been  practiced  for 
many  centuries.  The  reasons  for  this  practice  were 
probably  not  at  first  understood ;  even  today  all  the  ef- 
fects of  alternate  cropping  are  not  known,  but  so  many 
reasons  are  now  evident  that  no  good  excuse  seems  to 
exist  for  not  practicing  some  kind  of  rotation  on  almost 
every  farm.  As  pointed  out  in  Table  IV,  all  crops  do  not 
require  the  various  foods  in  exactly  the  same  propor- 
tions :  some  use  more  potash  or  nitrogen ;  others  need 
relatively  more  phosphorus  or  lime.  If  one  crop  is 
grown  continuously  on  the  same  land,  the  available  supply 
of  scarce  elements  is  reduced  and  the  yield  will  finally 
decrease;  but  if  crops  with  different  requirements  are 
alternated,  the  food  supply  of  the  soil  is  kept  in  a  more 
balanced  condition.  Each  kind  of  plant  has  a  differ- 
ent rooting  system  and  manner  of  growth.  If  shallow- 
rooted  crops  are  grown  continuously,  only  part  of  the 


Manuring  and  Rotations  87 

soil  is  used;  an  alternation  of  deep-  and  shallow-rooted 
crops  overcomes  this  difficulty. 

The  improvement  of  the  soil  furnishes  one  of  the  chief 
reasons  for  crop  rotation.  This  improvement  is  made 
possible  by  the  use  of  legume  crops,  which  fix  nitrogen 
from  the  air.  The  nitrogen  fixed  by  these  crops  can  be 
used  by  others  which  follow  in  the  rotation,  but  it  would 
be  lost  practically  if  legumes  were  raised  continuously. 
The  control  of  plant  diseases,  insect  pests,  and  weeds  is 
made  possible  by  the  rotation  of  crops;  indeed,  such 
considerations  often  compel  a  farmer  to  change  his  crops 
when  he  would  not  otherwise  do  so.  Economy  in  the  use 
of  man-labor,  horse-labor,  machinery,  and  irrigation 
water  results  from  the  raising  of  a  number  of  crops  on 
the  farm.  These  considerations  alone,  without  any  other 
benefits,  would  be  sufficient  for  practicing  rotations. 

Sugar-beets  require  a  great  deal  of  tillage.  The  land 
must  be  plowed  thoroughly  and  deeply ;  cultivation  dur- 
ing the  growth  of  the  crop  is  practiced;  and  finally  at 
harvest  time,  the  land  must  be  stirred  to  considerable 
depth  to  get  out  the  beets.  The  large  roots  go  deeply 
into  the  soil  and  promote  thorough  aeration,  and  when 
the  beets  are  topped  a  large  quantity  of  organic  matter 
is  added  to  the  land  from  crowns  and  tops.  All  these 
practices  promote  a  desirable  condition  in  the  soil.  It  is 
also  highly  desirable  to  have  part  of  the  results  of  these 
intensive  methods  of  cultivation  reflected  in  later  crops. 
This  end  is  achieved  by  rotating  the  crops.  The  crop 
that  follows  beets  in  the  rotation  is  benefited  by  the  tillage 
given  to  the  beet  crop,  even  though  beets  add  no  plant- 
food  to  the  soil  as  do  legumes. 


88  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

Principles  of  good  rotations. 

No  one  rotation  is  good  under  all  conditions ;  soil  type, 
climate,  markets,  and  many  other  factors  must  be  con- 
sidered when  planning  a  rotation.  A  number  of  cardinal 
principles,  however,  if  kept  in  mind,  will  be  of  considerable 
assistance. 

It  is  first  necessary  to  decide  what  crops  can  best  be 
grown  under  the  conditions  and  what  area  of  each  crop 
it  is  best  to  grow.  The  following  principles  should  then 
be  observed :  (1)  raise  about  the  same  acreage  of  each  crop 
every  year ;  (2)  have  at  least  one  cash  crop ;  (3)  include 
a  legume  crop  in  the  rotation;  (4)  alternate  tilled  and 
non-tilled  crops;  (5)  alternate  deep-  and  shallow-rooted 
crops;  (6)  alternate  exhaustive  and  restorative  crops; 
(7)  include  crops  that  together  will  make  the  best  use  of 
irrigation  water,  labor,  and  equipment ;  (8)  a  forage  crop 
should  be  included ;  (9)  follow  the  best  sequence  of  crops ; 
and  (10)  add  manure  to  the  right  crop  in  the  rotation. 
It  is  not  always  possible  to  conform  to  all  these  rules, 
but  they  may  serve  as  useful  guides. 

Rotations  with  sugar-beets. 

The  rotation  that  should  be  practiced  varies  with  so 
many  conditions  that  the  naming  of  any  particular  one 
to  include  sugar-beets  may  be  misleading.  It  must  be 
remembered,  therefore,  that  no  rotation  is  best  for  all 
conditions.  Some  of  the  factors  that  influence  the  rota- 
tion are :  (1)  kind  of  soil,  (2)  the  kind  of  crops  that  can 
be  raised  profitably  in  the  region,  (3)  the  proportion  of 
the  farm  that  is  to  be  planned  to  beets,  (4)  the  amount  of 
fertilizer  available,  (5)  the  number  of  live-stock  kept  on 


Manuring  and  Rotations  89 

the  farm,  (6)  the  presence  of  pests  and  diseases,  (7)  the 
amount  of  labor  that  is  available,  and  (8)  many  other 
conditions. 

In  several  of  the  beet-producing  areas  where  beets  have 
been  raised  almost  continuously  for  many  years,  the 
nematode  has  made  it  impossible  to  continue  the  crop 
unless  a  rotation  is  introduced.  In  planning  a  rotation 
for  these  conditions,  it  is  necessary  to  eliminate  plants 
that  will  foster  this  pest.  Crops  available  for  this  pur- 
pose are  listed  in  Chapter  XIII. 

In  several  districts  land  has  become  so  high-priced  that 
it  is  impossible  to  raise  at  a  profit  many  of  the  crops  that 
would  ordinarily  be  included  in  rotations  with  sugar- 
beets.  Where  a  condition  of  this  kind  is  found,  the  plan- 
ning of  a  good  rotation  becomes  a  real  problem.  The 
plant-foods  removed  by  the  beet  crop  may  be  added  in 
commercial  fertilizers,  but  this  does  not  keep  out  injurious 
diseases  and  pests,  neither  does  it  provide  the  proper 
balance  in  the  farm  business.  A  short  rotation  used  in 
some  of  the  areas  of  California  having  high-priced  land 
consists  of  beans  and  sugar-beets. 

In  the  Arkansas  Valley  of  Colorado  and  western  Kan- 
sas, the  cucurbit  group  of  crops  forms  an  important  part 
of  the  rotation  with  sugar-beets.  Cantaloupes  are  the 
principal  of  these ;  cucumbers  are  also  important.  These 
crops,  with  alfalfa  and  in  some  cases  potatoes,  make  the 
principal  crops  to  alternate  with  beets. 

In  northern  Colorado  and  in  parts  of  Utah,  several 
canning  crops,  such  as  peas,  beans,  and  tomatoes,  enter 
into  the  rotation.  These  crops,  taken  with  alfalfa,  pota- 
toes, sugar-beets,  and  grain,  enter  into  most  of  the  ro- 


90  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

tations.  Under  these  conditions,  it  is  a  rather  common 
practice  to  allow  alfalfa  to  grow  until  the  latter  part  of 
May,  then  plow  under  the  crop  and  after  thoroughly 
working  down  the  land,  plant  potatoes  or  corn.  The 
next  year  beets  are  planted.  The  organic  matter  plowed 
under  with  the  alfalfa  adds  to  the  humus  supply  of  the 
soil  and  enriches  it  in  nitrogen. 

A  farmer  having  eighty  acres  of  land  and  wishing  to 
raise  twenty  acres  of  beets  and  having  as  other  possible 
crops,  alfalfa,  potatoes,  tomatoes,  peas,  beans,  and  the 
small  grains,  might  arrange  his  crop  in  a  rotation  some- 
thing like  this :  alfalfa,  four  years ;  followed  by  potatoes, 
corn,  or  tomatoes,  one  year;  beets,  one  year;  peas  or 
beans,  one  year ;  beets  again,  one  year ;  grain  as  a  nurse 
crop  with  alfalfa,  one  year.  This  would  give  an  eight 
years'  rotation  with  the  following  acreage  each :  alfalfa, 
forty  acres ;  corn,  potatoes,  or  tomatoes,  ten  acres ;  beets, 
twenty  acres ;  peas  or  beans,  ten  acres ;  and  wheat,  oats, 
or  barley,  ten  acres. 

A  variation  of  this  rotation  would  be  to  put  the  two 
beet  crops  together  and  let  the  peas  or  beans  follow ;  or 
if  it  was  desired  to  have  as  large  an  acreage  of  beets  as 
possible,  the  peas  and  beans  could  be  eliminated  and  the 
beets  raised  three  years  continuously  if  well  manured, 
giving  a  total  of  thirty  acres  of  beets.  If  the  farm  were 
small,  the  same  general  arrangement  could  be  main- 
tained, only  it  is  probable  that  the  relative  area  planted 
to  beets  would  be  larger.  The  rotation  could  readily 
be  extended  or  shortened  a  year  or  two  by  increasing  or 
decreasing  the  length  of  time  the  land  was  in  alfalfa. 

Where  alfalfa  does  not  thrive,  the  same  general  plan 


Manuring  and  Rotations  91 

could  be  carried  out  with  some  other  sod  crop,  such  as 
clover  or  grass.  In  a  rotation  of  this  kind  the  use  of 
manure  is  usually  most  effective  if  applied  just  previous 
to  the  beet  crop.  In  plowing  up  alfalfa,  it  is  usually  bet- 
ter to  plant  the  land  to  some  crop  such  as  corn  or  pota- 
toes for  a  year  before  planting  beets  because  of  the  in- 
terfering action  of  the  coarse  alfalfa  crowns.  Clover  and 
grass  land  may  often  be  planted  to  sugar-beets  at  once, 
especially  if  fall-plowed. 


CHAPTER  VII 
CONTRACTS  FOR  RAISING  BEETS 

IT  seems  desirable  both  for  the  sugar  company  and  for 
the  farmer  to  have  a  contract  on  the  raising  of  beets  signed 
before  the  crop  is  planted.  The  farmer  would  have  no 
market  for  the  crop  of  beets  if  the  sugar  company  did  not 
buy  them.  He  might  feed  a  few  to  stock,  but  on  the 
ordinary  beet  farm  only  a  comparatively  small  number 
could  be  used  in  this  way.  He  should  be  sure,  therefore, 
before  planting  the  crop,  that  the  sugar  company  will 
take  it ;  otherwise,  he  runs  the  risk  of  a  heavy  loss.  Like- 
wise, the  sugar  company  needs  to  know  early  in  the  sea- 
son the  approximate  tonnage  of  beets  that  it  will  have  to 
slice  in  order  that  necessary  equipment  and  supplies  may 
be  secured.  These  conditions  have  led  to  the  universal 
practice  of  contracting  in  advance  all  beets  that  are  raised 
for  the  factory. 

ADVANTAGES  OF  CONTRACTING 

Farming  is  one  of  the  most  uncertain  of  all  businesses. 
This  is  partly  because  of  the  irregularities  in  prices.  One 
year  potatoes  or  hogs  will  be  high  and  the  farmer  thinks 
he  should  produce  more  of  these  commodities ;  but  by  the 
time  he  has  a  large  number  of  potatoes  or  hogs  to  sell,  the 

92 


Contracts  for  Raising  Beets  93 

price  has  gone  so  low  that  he  makes  nothing.  The  same 
condition  is  repeated  to  an  extent  with  most  products  of 
the  farm  that  are  marketed  in  the  usual  way. 

The  farmer  should  have  some  crop  that  he  can  depend 
on,  with  the  selling  price  known  at  the  beginning  of  the 
season.  This  condition  is  found  in  contracted  crops  like 
sugar-beets.  They  may  not  give  such  high  returns  every 
year  as  some  other  crops,  but  the  fact  that  a  known  price 
can  be  depended  on  tends  to  stabilize  the  entire  farm 
business.  With  crops  that  are  contracted,  the  farmer  can 
depend  on  getting  his  money  soon  after  harvest.  Prob- 
ably all  crops  should  not  be  contracted  in  advance,  but  a 
desirable  arrangement  is  to  have  some  contracted  crop 
raised  in  connection  with  others  that  are  marketed  in  the 
usual  way. 


ITEMS  INCLUDED   IN  THE  CONTRACT 

The  contracts  used  by  different  sugar  companies  vary 
greatly  in  their  content.  Some  go  into  considerable  de- 
tail and  specify  every  point ;  others  cover  only  the  more 
important  questions.  Items  included  in  some  contracts 
for  raising  beets  are  the  following :  amount  of  seed  to  be 
planted  to  the  acre,  price  of  seed,  price  of  seeding,  price 
of  beets,  provision  for  the  supervision  of  growing  by  the 
factory  agriculturist,  specific  directions  regarding  cul- 
tural methods,  time  of  digging,  methods  of  topping, 
method  of  weighing,  method  of  taking  tare,  standards 
for  condition  and  composition  of  the  beets,  time  of  pay- 
ment, provision  for  furnishing  labor,  and  a  number  of 
other  points. 


94  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

No  single  contract  includes  everything.  In  one  region 
one  item  is  important  and  is  mentioned ;  in  another  region 
this  item  may  never  cause  disagreement  and  would, 
therefore,  probably  not  need  to  be  mentioned. 


TYPES   OF  CONTRACTS 

Most  beet  contracts  are  similar  in  their  wording  and 
in  the  points  they  include  but  vary  in  such  details  as  the 
price  paid  for  beets,  the  time  of  performing  the  different 
kinds  of  work,  and  rates  for  sliding  scales,  and  profit 
sharing.  The  flat  rate  contract,  wherein  the  farmer  re- 
ceives a  definite  price  for  a  ton  of  beets  regardless  of 
their  sugar-content  or  the  price  of  sugar,  is  popular  in 
many  districts  because  of  its  simplicity  and  because  no 
laboratory  tests  and  complex  systems  of  accounting  are 
involved. 

The  flat  rate  contract,  however,  is  not  likely  to  be  so 
fair  to  all  concerned  as  either  the  sliding  scale,  based  on 
sugar-content  of  beets,  or  the  profit-sharing  plan,  based 
on  the  price  of  sugar  or  the  net  profits  from  the  manu- 
facturing of  it.  Although  these  systems  of  setting  the 
price  of  beets  are  rather  difficult  to  handle,  they  make  it 
possible  for  the  sugar  company  to  pay  more  on  the  aver- 
age for  beets,  because  the  farmer  takes  part  of  the  risk. 
Why  should  not  both  parties  share  the  hazards  of  the 
business  and  also  share  in  its  profits  ? 

Most  companies  also  have  a  labor  contract  by  the 
provisions  of  which  they  assist  the  farmer  to  secure  the 
hand  labor  required  in  thinning,  hoeing,  and  digging. 
The  sugar  company  is  able  to  get  in  touch  with  this 


Contracts  for  Raising  Beets  95 

labor  much  easier  than  the  individual  farmer  and  it, 
therefore,  maintains  a  labor  department  whose  duty  it  is 
to  assist  the  farmer  to  get  help  when  he  needs  it. 

Often  contracts  call  for  some  special  bonus  based  on  the 
total  quantity  of  beets  in  the  district  or  some  other  con- 
dition that  will  boost  the  industry.  These  are  usually 
local  and,  therefore,  call  for  no  particular  discussion. 

SAMPLE  CONTRACTS 

The  following  contract  gives  a  flat  rate  for  beets,  but 
allows  the  farmer  to  share  the  benefits  of  a  rise  in  price 
of  sugar : 

No.    .    . 

Acres .    . 
Sugar  Company 

SUGAR-BEET   CONTRACT 

(Locality) 

1918 

THIS  AGREEMENT,  in  duplicate,  this  .  .  day  of  191  , 
by  and  between  ....  SUGAR  COMPANY,  a  .... 
Corporation,  hereinafter  called  the  Sugar  Company,  and  .  .  . 

......  of ,  County  of 

.  .  .  ,  hereinafter  called  the  Grower. 

WITNESSETH  :  The  Grower  agrees  to  grow  in  the  year  of 
1918,  from  seed  to  be  supplied  by  the  Sugar  Company  .  .  . 
.  .  .  acres  of  sugar-beets,  and  to  deliver  and  sell  the  entire  crop 
therefrom  to  the  Sugar  Company,  and  the  latter  agrees  to  buy  and 
pay  for  the  same,  upon  all  and  singular  the  terms  and  conditions 
hereinafter  set  forth,  to-wit : 

1.  The  Grower  will  prepare  and  cultivate  the  said  land  and 
harvest  the  beets  grown  thereon  in  a  husbandlike  manner,  and 
deliver  all  beets  with  the  tops  closely  cut  off  at  the  base  of  the 


96  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

bottom  leaf,  and  will  use  reasonable  effort  to  protect  the  same 
from  frost  and  sun.  The  Sugar  Company  will  furnish  the  seed 
at  15  cents  per  pound  to  the  Grower,  and  plant  the  same,  when 
so  requested,  at  the  rate  of  65  cents  per  acre. 

2.  Delivery  of  beets  shall  be  made  as  follows:     Until  and 
including  October  15th,  only  as  required  by  the  Sugar  Company ; 
and  after  October  15th,  the  Grower  shall  deliver  without  further 
notification  all  unharvested  beets,  the  Sugar  Company  reserving 
the  right  to  reject  beets  containing  less  than  12  per  cent  Sugar. 
The  Sugar  Company,  at  its  option,  may  accept  or  reject  any 
beets  not  delivered  on  or  before  November  30th. 

3.  All  such  beets  to  be  delivered  at  the  expense  of  the  Grower 
in  a  manner  and  condition  satisfactory  to  the  Sugar  Company, 
in  the  sheds  or  on  cars  at  the     ....     factory,  or  at  the  re- 
ceiving  station   at In  case  of  no  care,  the 

Grower  agrees  to  unload  in  piles  as  directed  by  the  Sugar  Com- 
pany and  shall  receive  ten  cents  per  ton  for  such  piling. 

4.  The  Sugar  Company  shall  not  be  bound  to  accept  diseased, 
frozen,  damaged,  and  improperly  topped  beets,  and  beets  which 
do  not  otherwise  meet  requirements  hereof. 

5.  The  weight  of  dirt  delivered  with  beets  shall  be  deducted  in 
the  customary  manner,  and  such  deductions  shall  be  conclusive. 

6.  The  Sugar  Company,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  each  month, 
will  pay  $9.00  per  ton  for  all  beets  delivered  and  received  during 
the  preceding  calendar  month  in  accordance  with  the  terms, 
specifications  and  requirements  of  this  contract,  that  shall  test 
over  15  per  cent  in  sugar  content.     In  addition  to  the  aforemen- 
tioned payment,  the  Sugar  Company  will  pay  the  Grower  his 
proportion  of  one-half  the  increase  in  the  price  of  sugar,  if  any, 
above  $7.45  per  cwt.,  Seaboard  Refining  point,  based  on  the 
quantity  of  sugar  sold  at  such  increased  basic  price.     The  latter 
payment  to  be  computed  and  made  when  all  the  sugar  manufac- 
tured from  the  beet  crop  of  1918  has  been  sold. 

7.  The  Growers  shall  have  the  privilege  of  selecting,  at  their 
expense,  a  man  of  reliable  character,  satisfactory  to  The  Sugar 
Company,  to  check  the  tares  and  weights  of  the  beets  grown 
under  this  contract,  at  the  receiving  stations  where  such  beets 
may  be  delivered. 

8.  The  Sugar  Company,  at  its  pleasure,  during  the  growing, 
harvesting  and  delivery  of  the  beets,  shall  have  the  privilege 
and  shall  be  accorded  the  opportunity,  by  the  Grower,  of  sam- 


Contracts  for  Raising  Beets  97 

pling  the  beets,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  quality  thereof,  by  polar- 
ization and  analysis.  It  is  agreed  that  the  polarization  and  analy- 
sis by  the  Sugar  Company  shall  be  accepted  as  conclusive. 

9.  This  agreement  shall  bind  both  the  Grower  and  his  legal 
representatives,  and  the  Sugar  Company  and  its  successors,  and 
shall  not  be  transferable  by  the  Grower  without  the  written  con- 
sent of  the  Sugar  Company,  its  successors  and  assigns. 


SUGAR  COMPANY, 

By 

Witness: Agent. 


Grower. 
P.  O.  Address 

The  following  contract  provides  for  a  sliding  scale  of 
prices  based  on  the  sugar-content  of  the  beets. 

ORIGINAL 
MEMORANDUM   OP   AGREEMENT 

Between 

Grower 

and 

Sugar  Company 

(Locality) 

1.   THE   GROWER  agrees  to  prepare  the  land  for,  plant, 
block,  thin,  cultivate,  irrigate,  harvest,  and  deliver  during  the 

season  191  ,  in  compliance  with  the  directions  of 

SUGAR  COMPANY,  hereinafter  called  THE  COMPANY,  as 
may  be  given  from  time  to  time, acres  of  sugar- 
beets  on  the  following  described  lands,  to-wit : 

quarter-section,     .....     Township,      ....     Range, 


98  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

County,  (State) ;  but  in  no  event  shall 

THE  COMPANY  be  held  liable  in  damages  for  any  failure  or 
partial  failure  of  crop  or  any  injury  or  damage  to  beets. 

2.  That  the  seed  used  shall  be  only  that  furnished  by  THE 
COMPANY,  for  which  the  grower  shall  pay  ten  cents  (10^)  per 
pound,  and  twelve  (12)  pounds  per  acre  shall  be  planted,  the 
same  to  be  paid  for  out  of  the  first  beets  delivered.  Seed-bed 
must  be  approved  by  the  duly  authorized  agents  or  field  men  of 
THE  COMPANY,  before  the  seed  is  planted. 

3.  THE  GROWER  agrees  that  all  beets  grown  by  him  will 
be  harvested  and  delivered  to  THE  COMPANY  as  directed,  at 
the  factory,  or  in  cars  at  designated  receiving  stations  of  THE 
COMPANY,  properly  topped  at  base  of  bottom  leaf,  and  that 
knives  will  not  be  used  for  lifting  beets ;  but  hooks  may  be  used, 
provided  they  are  properly  driven  into  the  top  of  the  crown  of  the 
beet  only.  THE  GROWER  further  agrees  that  all  beets  grown 
and  delivered  by  him  shall  be  free  from  dirt,  stones,  trash,  and 
foreign  substance  liable  to  interfere  with  the  work  at  the  factory, 
and  shall  be  subject  to  proper  deductions  for  tare,  and  that  he  will 
protect  the  beets  from  sun  or  frost  after  removal  from  the  ground. 
THE  COMPANY  has  the  option  of  rejecting  any  diseased, 
frozen  or  damaged  beets,  beets  of  less  than  twelve  per  cent  (12%) 
sugar  or  less  than  eighty  per  cent  (80%)  purity,  or  beets  that  are 
not  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar.  It  being  agreed  and 
understood  that  THE  COMPANY  shall  not  be  obliged  to  re- 
ceive any  beets  prior  to  October  8th  containing  less  than  fifteen 
per  cent  (15%)  sugar.  It  also  being  understood  that  THE 
COMPANY  will  commence  receiving  the  crop  as  soon  as  the 
beets  are  thoroughly  matured. 

4.  In  the  event  that  any  portion  of  the  beets  grown  under  this 
contract  (except  that  portion  of  the  crop  which  is  to  be  siloed  as 
herein  provided)  shall  not  by  the  8th  day  of  October  of  said  year 
be  ordered  delivered  by  THE  COMPANY,  then  in  such  case  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  THE  GROWER  to  promptly  commence  and 
proceed  with  the  harvesting  and  delivery  of  such  beets  as  come 
within  the  contract  requirements  after  the  said  8th  day  of  October 
without  further  notice  from  THE  COMPANY,  and  to  fully 
complete  delivery  of  all  of  said  beets  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 
December  of  said  year. 

5.  THE    GROWER  agrees  to  silo,  if  so  directed  in  writing  by 
THE    COMPANY  prior  to  harvest,  any  portion  of  the  tonnage 


Contracts  for  Raising  Beets  99 

produced  on  the  above  contracted  acreage  not  to  exceed  twenty- 
five  per  cent  (25%)  of  the  entire  crop  grown  hereunder. 

6.  Beets  delivered  and  accepted  will  be  paid   for  by  THE 
COMPANY,  as  foUows : 

$8.375  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  12  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  14  per  cent 
$8.50  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  14  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  14.5  per  cent 
$8.625  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  14.5  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  15  per  cent 
$8.75  per  ton  for  beets   testing  not  less  than  15  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  15.5  per  cent 
$8.875  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  15.5  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  16  per  cent 
$9.00  per  ton  for  beets   testing  not  less  than  16  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  16.5  per  cent 
$9.125  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  16.5  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  17  per  cent 
$9.25  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  17  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  17.5  per  cent 
$9.375  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  17.5  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  18  per  cent 
$9.50  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  18  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  18.5  per  cent 
$9.625  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  18.5  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  19  per  cent 
$9.75  per  ton  for  beets  testing  not  less  than  19  per  cent 

sugar  and  under  19.5  per  cent 

And  twelve  and  one-half  cents  (12^)  per  ton  additional  for 
each  one-half  per  cent  above  19.5  per  cent. 

For  all  beets  siloed  one  dollar  ($1.00)  per  ton  extra  will  be  paid. 
It  being  distinctly  understood,  however,  that  none  of  such  siloed 
beets  shall  be  delivered  until  THE  COMPANY  sends  written 
instructions  to  THE  GROWER  to  make  delivery  of  "siloed 
beets"  ;  also  that  all  of  said  siloed  beets  shall  be  ordered  and  de- 
livered prior  to  January  31st. 

Payment  to  be  made  the  15th  of  each  month  for  beets  de- 
livered and  received  during  the  previous  calendar  month. 

7.  THE    GROWER  shall  have  the  privilege  of  selecting,  at 
his  expense,  a  man  of  reliable  character,  satisfactory  to  THE 


100  The  Sugar- Beet  in  America 

COMPANY,  to  check  the  tares  and  weights  of  the  beets  grown 
under  this  contract,  at  the  receiving  stations  where  such  beets 
may  be  delivered,  and  to  check  in  the  tareroom  laboratory  the 
polarization  of  his  beets. 

8.  It  is  further  agreed  in  the  event  of  a  shortage  of  cars  after 
October  8th,  causing  serious  delay  to  THE  GROWER,  said 
GROWER  shall  be  allowed  to  fork  his  beets  into  piles,  providing 
he  piles  them  eight  (8)  feet  high,  under  the  direction  of  THE 
COMPANY,  at  the  receiving  stations  where  large  elevated  dumps 
are  established ;   and  no  loose  dirt  shall  be  removed  from  the 
wagon  box  until  after  having  been  weighed  back. 

9.  To  ascertain  the  quality  of  said  beets,  THE  COMPANY 
shall  have  the  privilege  at  various  times  during  the  growing  and 
harvesting  season  of  causing  the  beets  to  be  sampled  and  polar- 
ized. 

10.  THE  GROWER  agrees  not  to  assign  this  contract  with- 
out written  consent  of  THE  COMPANY. 

The  Silo  clause  of  this  GROWER 

contract  will  not  be  enforced  .  .  SUGAR  COMPANY 
for  the  year  1918 :  By 

(Place) 191  . 

The  following  is  a  contract  between  the  sugar  company 
and  laborers  it  secures  for  the  farmers. 


LABOR  AGREEMENT 

IT  IS  HEREBY  AGREED  Between  Mr of 

No Street,  City  of ,  and  The 

Sugar  Company  of 

That  the  said  laborer  and associates  agree  to  take 

care  of acres  of  sugar-beets;  for  certain  farmers 

who  have  contracted  with  The  Sugar  Company  to  grow  beets ; 
the  labor  to  consist  of  blocking  and  thinning,  once  hoeing,  and 
pulling,  and  topping.  Sufficient  number  of  men  are  to  be  fur- 
nished to  do  the  work  in  a  careful  and  efficient  manner  that  shall 
be  satisfactory  to  the  farmer. 

The  Sugar  Company  agrees  that  the  farmer  will  make  settle- 
ment with  the  laborers  when  each  part  of  the  work  is  done,  as 
follows : 


Contracts  for  Raising  Bseis  101 

S  12.00  per  acre  when  the  thinning  and  hoeing  is  completed. 

$10.00  per  acre  when  the  pulling  and  topping  is  done. 

It  is  also  agreed  that  The  Sugar  Company  is  to  furnish  for  the 
farmer  a  comfortable  home  in  which  the  laborer  is  to  live,  and 
transportation  from  his  present  city  to  the  house  in  which  he  is  to 
live. 

As  a  guarantee  of  the  performance  of  the  above  contract  it  is 
agreed  that  The  Sugar  Company  is  to  retain  for  the  farmer  two 
dollars  per  acre  from  the  first  settlement  until  the  work  is  com- 
pleted in  the  fall. 

It  is  further  agreed  that  on  arrival  at  the  place  of  labor,  a  con- 
tract will  be  entered  into  between  the  laborer  and  the  farmer 
whose  beets  he  is  to  care  for,  which  shall  supersede  and  cancel 
this  agreement  but  will  describe  more  specifically  the  work  to  be 
done. 

THE SUGAR  COMPANY 

Per 

Dated 191  . 

Laborer. 

A  form  of  labor  contract  between  the  sugar  company 
and  the  farmer  is  given  below. 

ORIGINAL 

GROWERS'    APPLICATION    AND    AGREEMENT    FOR 
BEET   WORKERS,    1918 


SUGAR  COMPANY, 


I, ,  of County  of  .  .  .  .  , 

State  of  .  .  .  .  ,  hereby  make  application  to  the  .... 
Sugar  Company  (hereinafter  called  the  company),  for  hand 

laborers  to  care  for acres  of  sugar-beets,  planted 

in  rows inches  apart,  to  be  grown  by  me  for  said 

Sugar  Company  on  Section ,  Township  .  .  . 

.  .  County ,  State  of  .  .  .  .  ,  during  the 

season  beginning  with  the  spring  of  1918 ;  the  cost  of  such  labor 


V02  Tht>  Sugar- Beet  in  America 

to  be  Twenty-three  Dollars  ($23.00)  per  acre  for  beets  planted 
in  rows  Eighteen  (18)  to  Twenty-two  (22)  inches  apart  inclu- 
sive; Twenty-one  Dollars  ($21.00)  per  acre  for  beets  planted  in 
rows  Twenty-four  (24)  to  Twenty-six  (26)  inches  apart  inclusive ; 
and  Nineteen  Dollars  ($19.00)  per  acre  for  beets  planted  in  rows 
Twenty-eight  (28)  inches  apart. 

I  hereby  agree  that,  in  consideration  of  the  said  Company 
securing  beet  workers  for  me,  and  furnishing  them  with  railroad 
transportation,  I  will  sign  a  contract  with  such  beet  workers,  at 
prices  above  mentioned. 

I  further  agree  to  transfer  the  laborers  from  the  railroad 
station  to  and  from  the  land  to  be  worked  for  me,  or  to  pay  the 
cost  of  such  transfer,  and  to  furnish  such  laborers  with  a  suitable 
dwelling  place  and  water,  and  to  haul  fuel  while  they  are  em- 
ployed under  this  agreement. 

In  case  the  Sugar  Company  furnishes  a  house  for  the  laborers, 
I  agree  to  pay  for  rent  of  said  house  fifty  cents  (50  i)  for  each  acre 
of  my  beets  worked  by  said  laborers. 

I  further  agree  that  for  all  money  advances  made  by  the  said 
company,  to  care  for  the  growing  crop  under  the  terms  of  this 
agreement,  I  will  give  to  the  said  company  my  promissory  note, 
bearing  seven  per  cent  annual  interest,  payable  November  15, 
after  date  of  note. 

It  is  understood  that  the  said  company  will  undertake  to 
furnish  the  best  laborers  obtainable,  but  I  will  not  hold  the  said 
company  responsible  for  the  efficiency  of  said  laborers  or  failure 
to  secure  same. 

Dated 191    . 

(Signed) 


Grower. 
Witness: 

The  phraseology  of  any  of  these  contracts  might  be 
varied,  but  they  illustrate  the  type  of  agreements  en- 
tered into  in  the  production  of  sugar-beets. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
PREPARATION  OF  SEED-BED  AND  PLANTING 

THE  seed-bed  is  the  home  of  the  young  plant.  If  that 
home  is  favorable,  the  plant  gets  a  good  start  and  has  a 
fair  chance  to  make  a  satisfactory  growth;  if  it  is  un- 
favorable, the  plant  is  doomed.  No  matter  how  good  the 
seed  or  what  provisions  are  made  for  caring  for  the  crop 
later  on  in  its  life,  a  satisfactory  yield  cannot  be  obtained 
unless  the  plant  has  a  favorable  condition  in  which  to 
begin  its  life  and  to  grow  during  the  period  when  it  is  tender. 
In  outlining  methods  of  obtaining  a  good  seed-bed,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  conditions  differ  widely  and 
that  no  practice  will  fit  all  conditions.  The  object  is  to 
make  the  soil  a  suitable  home  for  the  young  plant.  The 
practice  that  will  produce  this  result  in  any  locality  is  the 
one  to  use.  In  discussing  the  question  for  all  conditions, 
only  general  suggestions  can  be  offered ;  the  details  must 
be  worked  out  locally. 

EFFECT  OF  PREVIOUS  CROP 

The  methods  of  preparing  land  for  sugar-beets  cannot 
be  discussed  independently  of  the  previous  crop.  If  a  sod 
crop  is  followed  by  beets,  every  effort  must  be  made  to 

103 


104  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

kill  the  sod  plant  and  to  promote  the  decay  of  roots  and 
crowns.  Considerable  attention  must  also  be  given  to 
stirring  the  land  deeply  in  order  that  the  beet  root  may 
have  a  mellow  soil  in  which  to  grow.  If  potatoes  or  a 
root  crop  have  been  grown  on  the  land,  the  soil  will  al- 
ready be  loosened  to  considerable  depth  and  there  will  be 
no  coarse  plant  residues  to  care  for.  Under  these  con- 
ditions, the  preparation  of  a  seed-bed  for  beets  is  com- 
paratively simple.  In  planning  a  rotation  in  which  sugar- 
beets  are  included,  this  question  should  be  given  due 
consideration,  particularly  in  arranging  the  order  in  which 
the  crops  should  follow  each  other.  This  is  discussed 
more  fully  in  Chapter  VI. 


REASONS  FOR  PLOWING 

The  most  fundamental  operation  in  the  preparation 
of  the  seed-bed  is  plowing.  One  of  the  distinguishing 
features  between  the  agriculture  of  the  savage  and  that 
of  civilized  man  is  the  difference  in  plowing:  the  one 
merely  scratches  the  land  sufficiently  to  get  the  seed 
planted ;  the  other  stirs  and  pulverizes  the  entire  surface 
layer  of  soil.  In  this  process  many  desirable  results  are 
obtained  :  the  structure,  or  tilth,  of  the  soil  is  improved ; 
air  is  better  able  to  penetrate  to  the  roots;  undesirable 
plants  and  weeds  are  killed ;  manure,  stubble,  and  other 
plant  residues  are  covered  and  decay  is  thereby  hastened ; 
and  moisture  is  conserved. 

Every  plant  requires  for  its  best  growth  that  looseness 
of  soil  which  permits  a  free  passage  of  air  and  an  easy 
penetration  of  roots.  This  is  particularly  true  of  sugar- 


Preparation  of  Seed-Bed  and  Planting        -  105 

beets.  When  left  undisturbed  for  a  number  of  years,  the 
soil  becomes  compact  and  is  not  in  the  best  condition  for 
crop  growth.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  loosen  it  by 
the  use  of  some  tillage  implement,  preferably  the  plow. 
In  cultivating  the  soil  to  improve  tilth,  attention  must 
be  given  to  the  amount  of  moisture  present.  A  soil 
plowed  when  too  wet  will  become  more  compact  than  it 
was  before  plowing. 

Plowing  should  mean  more  than  the  mere  turning  over 
of  the  soil.  If  plowing  is  well  done,  every  clod  will  be 
shattered  and  every  particle  have  its  relation  to  every 
other  particle  changed  through  the  shearing  action  that 
should  take  place  when  the  plowed  slice  is  turned  over. 
As  the  soil  falls  into  the  furrow,  it  should  be  a  granular 
mellow  mass  of  loose  particles.  The  kind  of  plow  that 
will  best  produce  this  condition  varies  with  each  soil. 
Sand  or  loam  may  be  made  mellow  with  any  kind  of  plow, 
but  a  heavy  clay  without  organic  matter  can  be  given  a 
good  tilth  only  when  every  condition  is  favorable. 

Organic  matter  accumulates  at  the  surface  of  any  soil 
that  is  cropped.  In  the  orchard,  leaves  fall ;  in  the  grain 
field,  stubble  is  left  after  harvest ;  and  in  meadows  that 
are  to  be  followed  by  another  crop,  a  sod  must  be  turned 
under.  These  plant  residues  cannot  decompose  readily  if  left 
at  the  surface ;  they  need  to  be  turned  under  and  mixed  with 
the  soil  in  order  to  decay  and  give  up  their  plant-foods  as 
well  as  to  assist  in  making  available  the  mineral  matter 
of  the  soil.  Farm  manure  is  constantly  being  applied 
to  the  land,  and  must  be  covered  and  mixed  with  the  soil 
if  it  is  to  do  the  most  good.  Practically  all  of  this  cover- 
ing must  be  done  with  some  kind  of  plow,  although  the 


106  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

disk  harrow  finds  occasional  use  where  the  land  has  been 
plowed  recently. 

One  of  the  most  important  reasons  for  cultivating  the 
soil  is  to  conserve  moisture.  Even  in  regions  of  abundant 
rainfall  it  is  often  necessary  to  save  soil  moisture,  and  in 
arid  regions  the  very  life  of  agriculture  depends  on  con- 
serving the  scant  supply  of  water.  If  the  soil  is  compact 
and  hard,  rain  water  will  run  off  the  surface  rather  than 
penetrate  the  soil  where  plants  can  use  it.  The  soil  must, 
therefore,  be  loosened  in  order  that  it  may  absorb  moisture. 
The  water  that  is  in  the  soil  moves  from  particle  to  particle, 
and  if  the  surface  particles  are  pressed  tightly  together 
the  water  will  rise  to  the  surface  where  it  is  lost  by  evapora- 
tion. This  loss  can  be  prevented  by  stirring  the  surface 
and  forming  a  loose,  dry  mulch  of  earth  which  retards 
the  escape  of  moisture. 

TIME  OF  PLOWING 

Many  factors  must  be  considered  in  determining  the 
best  time  to  plow,  such  as  the  amount  of  moisture  in  the 
soil,  the  rush  of  other  work,  the  climatic  conditions  during 
the  winter,  the  time  of  harvesting  the  preceding  crop, 
and  the  time  at  which  the  land  is  to  be  seeded.  As  a 
rule,  it  pays  to  plow  for  sugar-beets  in  the  fall  rather  than 
in  the  spring.  This  is  probably  more  true  for  this  crop 
than  for  any  other,  although  fall-plowing  is  usually  con- 
sidered good  for  practically  all  crops ;  there  are,  however, 
a  few  conditions  in  which  spring  plowing  seems  to  give 
better  results. 

Fall  plowing  is  desirable  because  it  allows  the  turning 


Preparation  of  Seed-Bed  and  Planting  107 

up  and  mellowing  of  deep  soil  which  winter-freezing  will 
make  congenial  to  crops;  it  secures  a  more  complete 
decomposition  of  organic  matter;  it  breaks  up  a  cloddy 
and  compact  condition;  it  allows  more  of  the  winter 
rainfall  to  be  stored ;  it  allows  time  to  establish  capillary 
connection  between  the  plowed  portion  and  the  subsoil; 
it  makes  possible  the  earlier  use  of  sod  land  for  the  beet 
crop ;  it  exposes  and  kills  many  insects  and  fungous  pests ; 
and  by  giving  better  conditions  for  decay  it  allows  the 
best  use  to  be  made  of  manure  applied  in  the  fall. 

The  mellowing  frosts  of  winter  bring  about  changes  in 
the  soil  that  would  require  a  great  amount  of  labor  to 
accomplish.  This  is  especially  true  on  heavy  land  that 
is  made  friable  only  with  great  difficulty. 

One  decided  advantage  of  fall  plowing  in  regions  having 
heavy  winter  and  spring  rains  is  that  the  beet  crop  can 
be  planted  much  earlier  with  fall  than  with  spring  plow- 
ing. If  the  farmer  has  to  wait  in  the  spring  till  the  land 
is  well  dried  before  plowing,  the  season  is  far  advanced 
before  seed  can  be  planted.  Harrowing  should  follow 
plowing,  after  which  enough  time  should  elapse  for  the 
soil  to  settle  before  seed  is  planted.  By  this  time  the 
surface  soil  is  dry  and  the  seeds  have  to  be  planted 
deep  in  order  to  obtain  the  moisture  necessary  for  ger- 
mination. 

In  many  regions  it  is  the  custom  to  plow  beet  land 
shallow  in  the  spring  after  fall  plowing.  This  has  the 
advantage  of  killing  weeds  that  come  up  early  in  the 
spring,  and  it  leaves  a  mulch  on  the  surface.  It  has  the 
disadvantage  of  drying  out  the  surface;  it  also  entails 
considerable  extra  expense.  Farmers  in  many  of  the 


108  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

leading  sugar-beet  areas  find  that  spring  plowing  can  well 
be  dispensed  with,  particularly  on  heavy  soils. 

In  many  regions  it  has  been  found  that  heavy  land 
planted  to  beets  or  potatoes  the  previous  year  may  be 
put  in  good  shape  without  plowing,  by  giving  the  surface 
a  thorough  treatment  in  the  spring.  This  is  done  by 
"taking  1  a  fine  tooth  harrow,  riding  it  and  running  it  as 
deeply  as  possible,  following  with  a  float  which  will  form 
a  fine  mulch  on  top  and  prevent  crusting.  Then  take  a 
spring-tooth  harrow  and  run  it  as  deeply  as  possible  the 
same  way  the  rows  of  beets  are  to  run  at  least  three  or 
four  inches  deep.  Next  follow  immediately  with  a  fine 
tooth  harrow  in  order  to  keep  the  land  worked  down  and 
retain  the  moisture  and  not  allow  clods  to  form.  The 
same  process  should  be  repeated  crosswise,  running  the 
spring  tooth  an  inch  or  two  deeper  if  possible.  Go  over 
it  again  with  a  roller  or  leveler  to  get  the  surface  firm 
enough  for  planting."  While  this  method  seems  to 
eliminate  plowing,  it  does  not  in  reality  do  so,  since  the 
digging  of  the  potatoes  or  beets  is  practically  equivalent 
to  a  fall  plowing  and  the  treatment  is  not  recommended 
except  for  heavy  land  that  has  raised  these  crops. 


DEPTH   OF  PLOWING 

The  proper  depth  of  plowing  has  always  been  a  topic 
of  discussion  among  farmers.  One  will  say  that  the 
deeper  the  plowing  the  better;  another  will  affirm  that 
shallow  plowing  is  best.  It  may  be  that  neither  has 

1  Austin,  Mark,  Utah  Farmer,  Vol.  12,  No.  31,  Mar.  3,  1917. 


PLATE  VIII.  —  Above,  (Photo  by  J.  A.  Brock)  culti-packer  preparing 
land  for  sugar-beets  in  Colorado  ;  center,  (Photo  by  J.  A.  Brock)  prep- 
aration of  land  for  beets  with  a  tractor,  Colorado;  below,  (Photo  by  T. 
H.  Summers)  the  spring-tooth  harrow  is  an  excellent  implement  to 
prepare  land  for  sugar-beets. 


Preparation  of  Seed-Bed  and  Planting  109 

made  any  careful  investigations  in  which  costs  have  been 
figured.  All  seem  agreed  that  for  beets  deep  plowing  is 
desirable,  since  the  expanding  roots  require  a  soil  that 
may  be  moved  readily;  but  just  what  deep  plowing  is 
seems  to  be  entirely  a  matter  of  local  judgment.  In  one 
place  twelve  inches  would  be  called  deep  plowing;  in 
another  locality  nothing  less  than  eighteen  or  twenty 
inches  would  be  so  designated. 

Ordinarily  where  mechanical  traction  power  is  available, 
the  land  is  plowed  deeper  than  where  horse  power  is  de- 
pended on.  In  some  sections  an  attempt  is  made  to  plow 
all  beet  land  twenty  to  twenty-four  inches  deep.  Other 
sugar-beet  areas  find  half  this  depth  ample.  The  nature 
of  the  soil  and  other  local  conditions  are  doubtless  im- 
portant considerations  in  this  connection.  The  length 
of  time  the  land  has  been  cultivated  must  also  be  taken 
into  consideration.  It  would  most  likely  be  unwise  to 
plow  land  twenty  inches  deep  when  it  had  previously 
been  plowed  only  eight  inches.  The  amount  of  raw  soil 
thus  turned  up  would  probably  render  the  land  almost 
wholly  unproductive  the  first  year,  particularly  if  the 
deeper  soil  were  heavy  and  compact. 

The  use  of  the  subsoil  plow  was  highly  recommended 
for  sugar-beets  in  the  early  days  of  the  industry  in  America, 
but  now  there  is  little  said  of  it.  In  some  areas  it  doubt- 
less pays  to  subsoil,  but  usually  subsoiling  cannot  be  recom- 
mended as  a  regular  practice  in  connection  with  plowing. 
In  digging  beets  the  land  is  in  reality  subsoiled;  this  is 
ordinarily  all  that  is  necessary.  In  some  soils  that  have 
never  produced  beets,  a  subsoiling  would  probably  be 
beneficial,  but  it  certainly  is  not  necessary  to  success  in 


110  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

raising  beets  and  it  is  an  expense  that  should,  therefore, 
be  eliminated. 

Conditions  in  each  locality  must  determine  what  depth 
land  should  be  plowed,  but  for  a  great  part  of  the  sugar- 
beet  area  a  thorough  plowing  to  a  depth  of  twelve  to 
fifteen  inches  is  ample.  When  experience  demonstrates 
that  deeper  plowing  will  pay  for  the  extra  expense  it  en- 
tails, greater  depth  should  be  practiced,  but  the  extra 
cost  should  always  be  considered. 

FINAL  PREPARATION 
(Plates  VIII,  IX) 

Much  depends  on  the  final  preparation  of  the  land  for 
planting.  Good  plowing  counts  for  little  if  it  is  not  fol- 
lowed by  tillage  methods  that  put  the  seed-bed  in  a  con- 
dition that  will  favor  a  quick  germination  of  the  seed 
and  a  rapid  growth  of  the  young  plant.  This  means  that 
the  top  few  inches  must  be  fine  and  mellow  and  at  the 
same  time  firm  and  moist.  This  preparation  should  be 
done  early  in  order  to  make  possible  early  seeding. 

If  the  land  is  too  dry  in  the  spring  to  respond  well  to 
tillage,  it  may  be  irrigated,  but  this  irrigation  must  be 
given  early.  Usually  irrigation  will  not  be  required  be- 
fore seeding,  but  when  necessary  it  should  be  given  before 
the  seed-bed  is  finally  prepared,  since  it  enables  the  farmer 
to  make  a  much  finer,  more  moist,  and  better  bed  for  the 
germinating  seed. 

Definite  directions  cannot  be  given  regarding  the  im- 
plement to  use.  The  tool  that  does  the  best  work  is  the 
one  to  employ.  The  nature  of  the  soil  will  determine 


PLATE  IX.  —  Above,  any  crust  must  be  broken  before  the  land  is  ready 
for  beets ;   below,  a  good  stand  of  beets  just  ready  for  thinning. 


Preparation  of  Seed-Bed  and  Planting  111 

whether  disk  harrow,  spring-tooth  harrow,  spike-tooth 
harrow,  float,  or  roller  should  be  used.  Often  a  combina- 
tion of  several  of  these  implements  is  required  to  secure 
satisfactory  results. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  young  beet  seedling 
is  extremely  tender,  and  too  much  care  cannot  be  given 
to  prepare  the  land  for  its  initial  growth.  Thorough 
disking,  harrowing,  and  floating  are  the  successive  steps 
usually  followed.  The  float  may  often  be  followed  to 
advantage  by  some  implement  to  firm  the  soil  just  below 
the  surface,  for  sugar-beet  seed  is  not  planted  deep.  A 
number  of  good  implements  are  available  for  this  firming. 
Finally,  a  light  harrowing  makes  a  thin  surface  mulch 
and  kills  the  weeds  that  are  newly  germinated.  The 
weed  problem  must  be  kept  definitely  in  mind  in  this  final 
preparation,  because  if  all  the  weeds  are  not  killed  about 
the  time  the  beet  seed  is  planted,  they  will  get  ahead  of 
the  beets  and  cause  much  trouble.  Weeds  are  most  easily 
killed  just  when  they  are  starting.  The  land  cannot  be 
harrowed  after  the  beets  are  planted;  and  by  the  time 
they  are  high  enough  to  cultivate,  the  weeds  may  have 
a  good  start.  , 

Rolling  the  land  is  often  practiced  to  make  the  surface 
smooth  and  to  break  clods.  Compacting  the  surface  soil 
with  the  roller  increases  capillary  movement  toward  the 
surface,  thereby  hastening  the  loss  of  moisture.  The  fact 
that  the  soil  seems  more  moist  after  a  roller  is  used  often 
misleads  farmers  into  thinking  they  are  actually  saving 
water.  Probably  the  farmer  is,  under  certain  conditions, 
justified  in  sacrificing  part  of  the  moisture  in  the  soil  in 
order  to  secure  a  better  germination  than  is  likely  to  follow 


112  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

compacting  the  soil  around  small  seeds.  If  the  land  were 
compact  in  its  original  unplowed  condition,  the  loss  of 
moisture  would  result  without  the  benefits  of  placing  the 
seed  in  close  contact  with  a  firm  soil. 


THE   SEED 

With  no  crop  is  greater  care  necessary  to  secure  good 
seed  than  with  beets.  It  is  so  highly  important  that  the 
sugar  companies  have  taken  the  matter  in  hand  and 
furnish  seed  to  all  farmers  contracting  to  raise  beets  for 
them.  Beet  seed  to  be  good  must  have  the  proper  breed- 
ing; its  sugar-producing  quality  must  be  up  to  the 
standard  by  actual  demonstration.  This  is  a  matter 
that  cannot  be  guessed  at  by  the  seed  grower;  he  must 
know  just  what  the  seed  will  do.  The  seed  must  be  up 
to  standard  in  power  to  germinate,  since  poor  germination 
means  a  poor  stand  and  this  is  a  serious  matter  for  the 
sugar-beet  grower.  The  seed  should  have  a  bright  ap- 
pearance ;  if  it  is  dark  colored,  it  may  have  been  wet  and 
the  germinating  power  thereby  reduced. 

A  number  of  treatments  to  improve  germination  have 
been  tried  with  varying  success.  Treatment  with  sulfuric 
acid  increases  germination,  but  the  trouble  and  expense 
of  this  treatment  will  probably  prevent  its  general  use. 
Scarifying  the  seed  with  a  special  machine  hastens  the 
germination  of  hard  seeds,  but  this  is  not  widely  practiced. 
For  the  present,  the  farmer's  effort  should  be  centered 
on  securing  good  seed  instead  of  trying  to  revive  poor 
seed  by  special  treatment.  A  fuller  discussion  of  the 
seed  question  is  given  in  Chapter  XV. 


Preparation  of  Seed-Bed  and  Planting  113 

TIME   OF  SEEDING 

The  date  of  planting  seed  varies  with  the  region  and 
with  the  season.  In  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  East, 
the  time  of  planting  is  between  April  1.  and  June  1.  In 
Colorado,  Utah,  Montana,  Wyoming,  and  Idaho,  it  is  two 
or  three  weeks  earlier.  Adams  1  gives  the  time  for  plant- 
ing in  California  as  follows : 

Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  Valleys     January  15  to  March  15 

Southern  California October  1  to  April  1 

Central  Coast  Counties February  1  to  June  1 

In  most  regions  the  season  of  planting  is  late  March, 
April,  and  early  May.  Seeding  time  should  not  be  de- 
termined by  the  calendar,  but  by  soil  and  weather  con- 
ditions. The  soil  should  be  warm  and  moist  and  the 
period  9f  severe  frosts  should  be  past. 

Early  seeding  has  many  advantages  and  some  draw- 
backs. If  the  seed  is  planted  early  and  for  any  reason 
the  stand  is  poor,  there  is  still  time  to  re-seed.  There  is 
also  the  advantage  that  the  young  plant  can  use  the  early 
spring  moisture  to  germinate  and  get  up  before  hot  weather 
causes  a  crust  to  form.  If  seeding  is  done  too  early,  there 
is  danger  of  the  seed  remaining  in  the  cold  soil  so  long 
that  it  rots  before  there  is  sufficient  heat  to  germinate. 

In  some  localities  the  time  of  planting  is  determined 
by  seasonal  winds  which  dry  the  land  and  cause  it  to 
crust  or  in  other  ways  injure  the  newly  planted  seed  or 
the  seedling.  Dates  of  planting  must  be  chosen  so  that 
the  seedlings  will  not  be  at  a  critical  stage  during  the 
season  when  regular  unfavorable  winds  occur. 

1  Adams,  R.  L.,  Calif.  Exp.  Sta.,  Cir.  No.  160.     1917. 
i 


114 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


METHOD   OF  PLANTING 
(Plate  X;  Fig.  10) 

The  distance  between  rows  varies  from  eighteen  to 
thirty  inches;  twenty  inches  is  the  ordinary  distance. 
If  land  is  poor  or  if  water  is  scarce,  the  beets  must  be 
planted  farther  apart  or  they  do  not  continue  a  vigorous 


FIG.  10.  —  Four-row  beet  seeder.     Rear  view. 


growth  throughout  the  season.  Under  any  conditions 
the  rows  must  be  far  enough  apart  to  permit  horse-drawn 
cultivators  to  go  between  them.  In  each  locality  the 
distance  is  usually  uniform  in  order  to  allow  an  inter- 
change of  machinery.  Tillage  implements  are  made  to 
cultivate  a  number  of  rows  at  a  time ;  consequently,  the 
spacing  should  be  regular. 
The  amount  of  seed  planted  varies  from  about  twelve 


PLATE  X.  —  Above,  (Courtesy  Truman  G.  Palmer)  planting  sugar- 
beets,  Colorado;  the  extending  arms  are  used  as  markers;  center, 
(Courtesy  Union  Sugar  Co.)  two  engines  with  connecting  cables  pull- 
ing machinery  in  beet  fields,  California  ;  below,  (Courtesy  Facts  About 
Sugar)  cultivating  and  hoeing  sugar-beets,  Iowa. 


Preparation  of  Seed-Bed  and  Planting  115 

to  twenty  pounds  to  the  acre.  More  seed  is  required 
if  the  land  is  not  in  a  condition  to  hasten  germination. 
The  size  of  seed  also  affects  the  amount  to  be  used.  It 
is  poor  economy  to  save  unnecessarily  on  beet  seed,  since 
a  good  stand  is  so  indispensable  to  a  good  yield.  For 
the  average  soil  that  has  been  well  prepared,  about  fifteen 
pounds  of  average  seed  to  the  acre  gives  excellent  results. 

The  depth  of  planting  is  very  important.  It  is  easy 
to  plant  the  seed  too  deep  and  thereby  to  reduce  its  vitality. 
The  seed  of  the  sugar-beet  has  little  food  stored  in  it.  If 
it  is  planted  deeply,  this  reserve  is  used  up  before  the 
plant  is  able  to  manufacture  its  own  food.  The  depth  of 
moisture  necessary  to  germinate  the  seed  must  also  be 
considered.  Seed  planted  in  dry  soil  will  not  germinate, 
and  it  is  better  to  have  a  plant  that  is  weak  due  to  deep 
planting  than  to  obtain  no  plant  at  all,  because  of  plant- 
ing in  dry  soil.  Usually  seed  is  planted  between  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  and  one  and  a  half  inches  deep.  If  the 
condition  of  the  soil  permits,  shallow  planting  is  to  be 
preferred.  This  is  particularly  true  on  heavy  land  that 
is  likely  to  crust. 

Many  types  of  beet  drills  are  on  the  market.  No  type 
is  best  for  all  kinds  of  soils.  In  some  cases  the  seed  is 
planted  one  seed  in  a  place  and  scattered  regularly  along 
the  row.  In  some  sections  a  type  of  drill  that  drops  the 
seed  in  hills  to  facilitate  thinning  is  finding  favor. 

THE   STAND 

A  good  stand  of  beets  is  so  important  that  every  means 
should  be  used  to  secure  it.  If,  for  any  reason,  the  first 


116  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

seeding  does  not  produce  a  uniform  stand,  it  is  often 
desirable  to  re-seed.  It  may  be  that  the  crop  will  have 
to  be  planted  several  times.  One  of  the  chief  causes  of  a 
poor  stand  is  a  crust  which  forms  at  the  surface  after  the 
seed  is  planted  and  before  it  comes  up.  If  the  seeding  is 
light,  the  single  plants  may  have  difficulty  pushing 
through,  whereas  a  heavier  seeding  would  place  several 
plants  near  each  other  and  together  they  could  break 
through  the  crust. 

Many  kinds  of  mechanical  devices  are  used  to  break 
the  crust.  The  roller  is  often  employed.  A  very  effective 
implement  consists  of  special  wheels  running  directly 
over  the  rows.  These  have  spike  points  or  knives  which 
penetrate  the  crust  sufficiently  to  enable  the  tender 
plants  to  come  through  without  disturbing  the  soil  enough 
to  injure  the  seedling. 


CHAPTER  IX 
CULTURAL  METHODS 

THE  acre-yields  of  sugar-beets  are  lower  in  America  than 
in  the  European  countries,  largely  because  cultural  methods 
here  are  not  so  thorough.  The  higher  price  of  hand  labor, 
together  with  the  availability  of  land,  has  made  the 
American  farmer  less  inclined  to  give  to  his  farming  opera- 
tions the  painstaking  care  necessary  for  high  yields.  This 
condition  made  him  slow  to  take  up  beet-raising  in  the 
first  place,  and  it  makes  him  remain  a  little  behind  the 
European  farmer  in  the  care  he  gives  to  the  crop.  In 
regions  in  which  sugar-beets  have  been  raised  longest, 
farmers  are  learning  that  they  are  well  repaid  for  the 
extra  work  they  give  to  the  beet  crop.  They  are  finding 
that  for  every  dollar  spent  on  better  culture,  they  may 
obtain  several  dollars  in  return.  The  operations  deserv- 
ing most  attention  in  this  connection  are  thinning  and 
cultivation.  The  practices  are  suggested  in  Plate  X,  and 
in  the  test  figures. 

THINNING 

(Plate  XI) 

Preparation  for  thinning. 

The  first  requisite  to  good  thinning  is  an  even  stand 
of  beets.  If  this  can  be  secured  from  the  first  seeding,  so 

117 


118  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

much  the  better ;  but  if  not,  re-seeding  should  be  resorted 
to.  A  satisfactory  crop  cannot  be  raised  if  only  half  the 
beets  come  up.  In  some  soils  no  treatment  is  necessary 
from  the  time  the  seed  is  planted  till  the  beets  are  ready 
to  thin.  In  some  sections,  however,  it  is  advisable  to 
roll  the  land  soon  after  the  beets  come  up  and  before  they 
are  thinned.  Some  disagreement  exists  as  to  the  value 
of  this  rolling,  but  many  farmers  believe  it  to  be  of  de- 
cided benefit  on  some  soils. 

The  practice  of  beginning  cultivation  as  soon  as  the 
beets  are  up  enough  to  show  the  rows  has  many  advantages. 
It  helps  to  conserve  the  moisture ;  it  keeps  in  check  weeds 
that  come  up  so  abundantly  at  this  season  of  the  year; 
it  gives  to  the  rapidly-growing  young  plants  the  supply 
of  air  needed  by  their  roots ;  and  it  facilitates  thinning. 

Blocking  and  thinning. 

No  operation  in  the  entire  process  of  beet-raising  is 
more  important  than  thinning.  Losses  resulting  from 
poor  thinning  are  not  easily  apparent ;  for  this  reason  the 
danger  is  greater.  At  the  time  the  beets  are  thinned,  the 
farmer  is  rushed  with  other  work,  and  since  this  operation 
is  very  slow  and  tedious,  the  tendency  is  to  hurry  over  it. 
If  each  farmer  could  perform  his  own  work,  sufficient  care 
would  probably  be  taken,  but  most  thinning  is  done  by 
contract  labor  or  by  children,  and  as  a  result  it  is  usually 
far  from  perfect. 

When  the  work  is  contracted,  at  least  part  of  the  pay 
should  be  based  on  the  acre-yield  of  the  crop  instead  of 
entirely  on  the  area  thinned.  When  a  flat  rate  for  an  acre 
is  paid,  it  is  'difficult  to  secure  satisfactory  work.  When 


PLATE  XI.  —  Above,  thinning  sugar-beets,  Utah  (Photo  by  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agr.) ;  below,  cultivating  young  beets  ;  continual  cultivation  is 
necessary  for  the  best  growth  of  beets. 


Cultural  Methods  119 

children  are  employed,  careful  supervision  is  necessary, 
since  they  do  not  realize  the  difference  in  yield  resulting 
from  careful  and  slovenly  work. 

Beets  should  be  thinned  about  the  time  they  have  four 
leaves.  Before  this  time,  it  is  impossible  to  tell  which 
will  be  the  strong  plants.  Later,  the  shock  to  the  plants 
that  are  left  is  so  great  that  they  do  not  easily  recover. 
Much  more  damage  is  done  by  leaving  beets  too  long  be- 
fore thinning  than  by  thinning  them  too  early.  When 
the  farmer  has  a  large  acreage,  he  must  begin  a  little  too 
early  and  continue  a  little  too  long  in  order  to  thin  most 
of  the  plants  when  they  are  the  proper  size.  Planting  on 
two  or  three  dates  is  necessary  with  large  acreages  in  order 
to  make  thinning  at  the  proper  time  possible. 

The  distance  apart  to  leave  plants  depends  on  a  number 
of  conditions.  If  the  land  is  rich,  the  beets  may  be  closer 
together  than  if  it  is  poor.  If  the  season  is  short,  they 
may  also  be  left  closer  in  order  to  hasten  an  early  maturity. 
Under  some  conditions,  the  highest  yield  and  sugar-con- 
tent are  obtained  where  the  beets  have  from  144  to  160 
square  inches  of  surface  to  the  plant.  With  the  rows 
twenty  inches  apart,  the  plants  would  be  about  eight 
inches  apart  in  the  rows.  This  would  give  39,200  plants 
to  the  acre.  If  the  beets  weighed  one  pound  each,  a 
perfect  stand  would  give  a  yield  of  19.6  tons  to  the  acre. 
In  some  places  the  beets  are  left  as  much  as  eighteen 
inches  apart,  but  so  great  a  distance  usually  results  in  a 
decreased  yield.  In  a  few  places  where  the  beets  grow 
exceptionally  large,  this  distance  may  be  justifiable. 

When  the  beets  are  close  together  the  yield  may  be 
higher,  but  the  extra  work  of  handling  the  smaller  beets 


120  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

often  makes  the  farmer  satisfied  with  the  lower  yield. 
The  whole  question  of  distance  of  spacing  is  so  much  de- 
pendent on  local  conditions  that  the  farmer  is  safer  in 
following  local  practice  than  any  general  advice.  It  is 
probable  that  the  distance  is  more  often  too  great  than 
too  small,  since  in  thinning  more  ground  can  be  covered 
if  the  beets  are  far  apart  and  the  tendency  is  to  stretch 
ten  inches  to  twelve  or  fourteen.  Under  average  con- 
ditions, from  ten  to  twelve  inches  is  about  the  correct 
distance. 

After  deciding  on  the  time  to  thin  and  the  distance  be- 
tween beets  in  the  row,  the  next  thing  is  a  sharp  hoe  with 
which  to  do  the  blocking.  This  is  accomplished  by  cutting 
out  all  plants  in  the  row  except  bunches  that  are  left  as 
far  apart  as  the  beets  are  to  grow.  From  these  bunches 
all  plants  but  one  are  removed.  In  blocking  the  beets, 
it  is  well  to  lay  out  a  strip  of  land  containing  sixteen  to 
twenty  rows  and  proceed  much  as  in  plowing  the  land 
so  as  to  leave  a  back  furrow  with  soil  hoed  from  the  fur- 
row as  seldom  as  possible.  Later  in  cultivating  the  rows 
with  the  back  furrow,  the  soil  and  clods  are  thrown  on  the 
young  plants  and  may  injure  them.  Expert  blockers 
with  the  right  kind  of  hoe  can  make  the  proper  width 
with  a  single  stroke. 

Next  comes  the  tedious  process  of  thinning  (Plate  XI), 
in  which  all  the  plants  except  one  are  removed  from  the 
bunch.  In  every  case  the  most  vigorous  plant  in  the  bunch 
should  be  left.  Experiments  have  shown  an  appreciable 
difference  in  yield  where  a  comparison  was  made  between 
leaving  the  weak  and  the  strong  plants.  If  two  beets 
are  left  at  a  place,  each  interferes  with  the  other,  pro- 


Cultural  Methods  121 

ducing  two  under-sized  and  undesirable  beets  at  harvest 
time. 

Losses  from  poor  thinning. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,1  as  a 
result  of  three  years'  experiments  carried  on  in  Utah, 
showed  the  importance  of  having  a  good  stand.  The 
differences  in  treatment  were  hardly  noticeable  by  a 
casual  observation,  but  were  easily  seen  when  actual 
measurements  were  made.  Although  the  beets  were  con- 
siderably larger  where  the  stands  were  thin,  the  extra  size 
did  not  nearly  make  up  for  the  thin  stand ;  the  correlation 
between  stand  and  yield  was  remarkably  close.  Poor 
stands  were  almost  entirely  due  to  careless  thinning, 
spacing,  hoeing,  and  cultivation.  Leaving  the  beets  in 
pau-s  had  a  bad  effect  on  the  yield.  Planting  deeper  than 
is  customary  resulted  in  more  damping-off  in  the  young 
beets  and  consequently  in  a  poorer  stand. 

The  loss  in  stand  before  thinning  was  over  19  per  cent, 
that  during  thinning  over  21  per  cent,  and  the  loss  be- 
tween thinning  and  harvest  almost  7  per  cent,  or  a  total 
of  47.55  per  cent  loss  in  stand,  so  that  the  average  showed 
only  one  beet  to  every  16.4  inches.  Some  farmers  who 
were  able  to  maintain  a  stand  averaged  a  beet  to  each 
ten  to  twelve  inches  in  the  row.  These  farmers  harvested 
a  crop  not  only  larger  in  proportion  to  the  better  stand, 
but  the  beets  with  a  thicker  stand  averaged  higher  in 
sugar.  When  the  stand  at  harvest  was  76.8  per  cent 
perfect,  the  yield  was  30.5  tons  to  the  acre ;  when  it  was 

1  Shaw,  H.  B.,  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  No.  238.     1915.  ' 


122 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


60.3  per  cent  perfect,  17.2  tons;  and  when  but  29.6  per 
cent  perfect,  10.3  tons  to  the  acre. 

In  addition  to  the  losses  in  stand  due  to  poor  cultural 
methods,  there  were  losses  caused  by  imperfect  germination 
which  might  be  attributed  to  the  following  causes :  poor 
preparation  of  seed-bed,  imperfect  operation  of  seed  drills, 
late  frosts,  damping-off  disease,  blowing  of  light  sandy 
soils,  flea-beetles,  cutworms,  and  wireworms. 

Losses  due  to  delayed  thinning  are  shown  from  the 
following  yields  obtained  in  Germany : 


TIME  OF  THINNING 

YIELD  —  TONS 

Loss  AT  $5  A  TON 

At  proper  time    

15.0 

$- 

One  week  Inter 

135 

$  7  50 

Two  weeks  later      .... 

100 

$2500 

Three  weeks  later    

7.0 

$4000 

HOEING 

Two  hoeings  by  hand  are  usually  required;  three  are 
sometimes  necessary.  This  is  the  chief  item  of  expense 
after  thinning  and  topping.  Much  depends  on  hoeing 
at  the  proper  time  in  order  that  weeds  do  not  get  started 
and  take  the  nourishment  and  moisture  that  are  needed 
by  the  young  beet  plant.  It  is  likewise  important  that 
the  hoeing  be  thorough.  This  is  much  more  important 
for  sugar-beets  than  for  a  crop  like  corn  that  grows  rapidly 
and  soon  shades  the  weeds.  In  the  beet  field  it  is  the  weeds 
that  do  the  shading.  Hoeing  is  often  contracted  in  con- 
nection with  thinning.  This  is  very  satisfactory  since  it 


PLATE  XII.  —  Above,  (Courtesy  Facts  About  Sugar)  hoeing  sugar- 
beets,  Michigan ;  center,  (Courtesy  Union  Sugar  Co.)  irrigating  sugar- 
beets,  California ;  below,  ditch  used  to  sub-irrigate  beets ;  this  method 
of  irrigation  is  used  rather  extensively  in  parts  of  California  and  Utah. 


Cultural  Methods 


123 


gives  opportunity  to  require  a  re-thinning  when  the  work 
was  done  carelessly  the  first  time. 


CULTIVATING 


As  previously  stated,  cultivation  should  begin  as  soon 
as  the  rows  can  be  seen  and  should  be  continued  till  the 


FIG.  11.  —  Four-row  beet  cultivator  with  pivot  axle  and  frame  leveling 

lever. 

leaves  become  so  large  that  they  are  injured  by  the  cul- 
tivator. Probably  the  most  important  single  cultivation 
is  that  given  immediately  after  the  beets  are  thinned. 
If  properly  done,  it  enables  the  young  plants  to  revive 
better  from  the  shock  they  receive  when  their  companion 
plants  are  removed  and  the  soil  is  moved  away  from  their 
roots.  Under  ordinary  conditions  the  cultivations  will 


124 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


be  repeated  about  every  ten  days.    This  time  may,  how- 
ever, be  modified  somewhat  by  rains  or  by  irrigation. 


WEEDING       KMf  E        H°  S. 

FIG.  12.  —  Cultivator  attachments  to  be  used  at  different  stages  in  the 
growth  of  the  beet. 

Several  good  cultivators  are  on  the  market.  These 
provide  a  number  of  attachments,  varying  from  the 
"spider"  to  the  weeding  knife,  to  be  used  at  different 
stages  in  the  growth  of  the  crop  and  for  different  con- 


Cultural  Methods  125 

ditions.  Two-rowed  and  four-rowed  cultivators  are  both 
employed.  The  larger  one  is  used  almost  exclusively  for 
the  larger  acreages.  Plates  XI  and  XII  and  Figs.  11 
and  12  indicate  some  of  the  methods. 

Specific  directions  as  to  just  when  and  how  to  cultivate 
are  almost  useless^  since  practices  vary  so  much  with  con- 
ditions. The  best  method  is  the  one  that  will  most  surely 
accomplish  the  ends  sought :  the  aerating  of  the  soil,  the 
conservation  of  moisture,  and  the  control  of  weeds. 
Each  one  of  these  would  be  enough  to  justify  frequent 
cultivation;  combined  they  make  it  imperative.  Few 
farmers  cultivate  too  much;  many  cultivate  too  little. 
A  crop  may  be  raised  with  very  few  cultivations,  but 
every  time  the  soil  is  properly  stirred  the  yield  of  beets 
is  increased.  Just  before  the  leaves  cover  the  ground, 
the  final  cultivation  should  be  given  and  it  should  be 
thorough  but  not  deep. 


CHAPTER  X 
IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINAGE 

THE  sugar-beet  plant  responds  readily  to  a  favorable 
moisture  condition  in  the  soil.  It  cannot  be  classed  as 
either  drought-resistant  or  a  water  lover;  it  requires  an 
intermediate  amount  of  moisture  similar  to  that  de- 
manded by  such  crops  as  potatoes  and  the  grains.  The 
amount  of  labor  expended  on  a  crop  of  beets  is  so  great 
that  every  effort  should  be  made  to  maintain  the  most 
favorable  moisture-content  in  the  soil  in  order  that  the 
yield  of  the  crop  may  justify  the  expense  necessary  to 
raise  it.  The  practical  methods  of  affecting  the  soil 
moisture  are  by  irrigation  water  where  the  rainfall  is  not 
sufficient,  and  by  drainage  on  land  that  is  too  wet. 

IRRIGATION 
(Plates  XII,  XIII;  Figs.  13-22) 

Beets  adapted  to  irrigation  farming. 

Most  of  the  sugar-beets  raised  in  America  are  produced 
with  the  aid  of  irrigation  water.  Michigan  is  the  only 
important  beet-producing  state  in  the  United  States  that 
is  not  in  the  irrigated  region.  The  beet-sugar  industry 
was  started  in  the  humid  part  of  the  country,  but  it  made 
no  great  success  till  it  was  carried  to  irrigated  lands.  The 

126 


Irrigation  and  Drainage 


127 


yield  of  beets  is  greater  under  irrigation  than  where  water 
is  not  supplied.  This  is  probably  because  irrigation  makes 
possible  the  maintaining  of  a  more  desirable  moisture- 


FIG.  13.  —  Reservoir  for  irrigation  water,  and  diversion  dam. 

content  in  the  soil  than  can  be  relied  on  from  the  rainfall 
alone. 

Sugar-beet  culture  is  adapted  to  intensive  farming  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  amount  of  man-labor  that  must  be  spent 
on  each  acre  in  thinning  and  harvesting.  This  condition 
fits  well  into  the  small  farms  of  the  irrigated  district. 

Sources  of  irrigation  water. 

The  most  common  and  least  expensive  source  of  water 
for  irrigation  is  found  in  running  streams.  A  suitable  dam 
is  placed  across  the  bed  of  the  stream  to  turn  water  into 
the  canal  which  carries  it  to  the  land  to  be  served.  The 


128  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

head  of  such  a  canal  is  sometimes  many  miles  from  the 
farm ;  at  other  times  the  land  to  be  irrigated  is  along  the 
banks  of  the  stream. 

When  irrigation  water  is  secured  directly  from  a  river, 
only  part  of  the  water  can  be  used,  since  the  irrigation 
season  occupies  but  a  few  months  out  of  the  year,  whereas 
the  stream  flows  continuously,  often  having  its  greatest 
flow  when  the  water  is  not  being  utilized.  In  order  to 
make  more  water  available,  storage  reservoirs  are  built. 
These  receive  the  water  at  times  when  it  is  not  being  used 
and  hold  it  until  the  irrigating  season.  As  more  land  is 
farmed  and  as  water  becomes  less  plentiful,  increased 
provision  for  storage  is  made. 

The  pumping  of  water  for  irrigation  from  wells  and 
ponds  is  increasing  rapidly.  The  depth  from  which  it 
can  be  pumped  economically  for  beets  depends  on  the 
expense  of  fuel,  or  power,  and  a  number  of  other  factors. 
Many  beets  are  raised  with  water  pumped  from  a  depth 
of  fifty  feet ;  and  in  some  cases  a  part  of  the  water  used  for 
beets  is  pumped  more  than  one  hundred  feet. 

Measurement  of  water. 

Irrigation  water,  as  well  as  land  and  crops,  should  be 
measured.  In  the  past,  guessing  at  the  amount  of  water 
used  has  been  more  common  than  making  accurate  meas- 
urements. This  has  led  to  endless  disputes  and  trouble 
concerning  water  rights.  In  the  future,  those  concerned 
with  the  use  of  water  will  need  to  be  familiar  with  methods 
of  making  measurements  and  expressing  quantities.  This 
will  be  especially  true  on  sugar-beet  farms  where  land  and 
water  are  usually  high-priced. 


Irrigation  and  Drainage  129 

The  two  principal  devices  for  measuring  flowing  water 
are  the  weir  and  the  current  meter.  With  the  former,  a 
measuring  gate  of  known  size  is  placed  in  the  stream  and 
the  height  of  water  flowing  over  it  determined.  From 
standard  tables  the  discharge  is  found.  When  the  current 
meter  is  used,  the  velocity  of  the  stream-flow  is  obtained, 
together  with  its  cross-section ;  from  these  the  amount  of 
water  is  calculated. 

Of  the  many  methods  of  expressing  quantities  of  water, 
the  ones  in  most  Common  use  are  the  second-foot  and  the 
acre-foot.  A  second-foot  represents  one  cubic  foot  of 
water  flowing  each  second.  An  acre-foot  is  the  amount 
of  water  required  to  cover  an  acre  of  land  one  foot  deep, 
that  is,  43,560  cubic  feet.  A  second-foot  flowing  for 
twelve  hours  will  flow  almost  exactly  an  acre-foot.  If 
a  weir  is  placed  in  the  ditch,  it  is  very  easy  to  compute 
the  depth  of  water  applied  at  each  irrigation. 

Preparing  land  for  irrigation. 

Considerable  care  should  be  taken  in  preparing  land 
for  irrigation.  This  often  calls  for  a  great  expenditure 
of  money  to  make  smooth  a  surface  that  is  rough  and  to 
give  a  uniform  slope  to  the  land ;  but  since  a  single  level- 
ing will  serve  for  many  years,  the  expenditure  is  usually 
justified.  Too  often  farmers,  not  wishing  to  spend  so 
much  money  during  any  one  season,  leave  the  land  uneven 
year  after  year,  and  as  a  result  each  crop  is  diminished. 
It  may  be  that  the  loss  each  year  would  not  be  sufficient 
to  pay  for  grading  the  land,  but  many  years  would  not 
be  required  to  do  so. 

Losses  result  from  an  uneven  soaking  of  the  land  in 


130  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

which  the  beets  on  low  places  receive  more  water  than 
they  need  before  those  on  the  higher  land  have  received 
as  much  as  they  should  have.  Scalding  of  plants  on  the 
lower  spots,  due  to  their  being  covered  with  water,  is 
not  uncommon.  Excessive  slope  to  the  land  should  be 
avoided;  more  than  five  feet  fall  in  one  hundred  will 
result  in  considerable  washing. 

Methods  of  irrigating  beets. 

Although  check  and  border  irrigation  is  used  in  parts  of 
California  and  in  a  number  of  other  sections  to  a  less  ex- 
tent, most  of  the  beets  in  the  country  are  irrigated  by  the 
furrow  method.  In  a  few  sections  sub-irrigation  is  prac- 
ticed. The  checks  are  usually  rectangular  in  form  and 
not  larger  than  an  acre  in  extent;  a  half  acre  is  better. 
The  checks  near  the  head  of  the  ditch  are  filled  first  and 
the  water  is  moved  from  one  to  the  other  in  regular  order. 
The  levees  are  seeded  with  the  remainder  of  the  field,  but 
the  beets  planted  here  have  less  moisture  than  the  others. 
Care  must  be  exercised  in  irrigating  by  this  method  not 
to  scald  or  to  drown  the  beets. 

In  furrowing  out  the  beet  field  for  furrow  irrigation, 
several  implements  are  used.  Each  community  has  its 
preference  for  some  special  implement.  The  main  thing 
is  to  be  able  to  make  a  good,  clean,  smooth  channel. 
With  the  proper  implement  five  to  ten  acres  can  be  pre- 
pared in  a  day  by  one  man  and  team. 

The  permanent  field  laterals  should  be  arranged  so 
as  to  allow  the  freest  preparation  and  cultivation  of  the 
fields  without  interference.  By  making  the  field  laterals 
conform  to  the  contour  of  the  land,  the  water  may  be 


Irrigation  and  Drainage  131 

distributed  evenly  through  the  furrows.  On  light  soil 
difficulty  is  likely  to  be  experienced  with  the  banks' 
cutting,  causing  more  water  to  run  down  one  furrow  than 
another.  When  this  difficulty  occurs,  some  form  of 
permanent  outlet  may  be  provided  to  advantage.  This 
insures  fairly  even  streams.  In  many  places  small  lath 
or  galvanized  iron  tubes  are  put  through  the  bank  at  the 
head  of  each  row.  These  are  long  enough  to  protrude  a 
little  on  both  sides  of  the  bank.  Though  these  tubes  are 
often  helpful,  they  are  not  without  objections.  In  a 
heavy  soil  devices  of  this  kind  usually  are  not  required. 

To  run  water  the  entire  length  of  a  long  field  is  a  mis- 
take even  where  the  slope  of  the  land  permits.  On  flat 
fields,  cross  ditches  usually  should  be  not  more  than  two 
or  three  hundred  feet  apart ;  even  on  sloping  ground  the 
distance  should  rarely  exceed  five  hundred  feet.  Waste 
ditches  at  the  bottom  of  the  land  should  always  be  pro- 
vided, in  order  that  use  may  be  made  of  all  the  water  that 
does  not  soak  into  the  land.  Allowing  water  to  go  to 
waste  where  it  does  no  one  good,  but  causes  injury,  cannot 
be  condemned  too  strongly. 

When  sub-irrigation  is  practiced,  water  is  allowed  to  stand 
in  deep  ditches  from  which  it  soaks  laterally  till  all  the  land 
is  moistened.  This  method  can  be  used  only  where  a  rather 
open  surface  soil  covers  a  layer  that  prevents  the  water 
from  percolating  rapidly.  Where  these  conditions  prevail, 
sub-irrigation  offers  an  ideal  method  of  applying  water. 

Water  requirements  of  beets.     (Plate  XII) 
The  amount  of  irrigation  water  required  to  produce  a 
maximum  crop  of  beets  varies  with  the  sunshine,  wind, 


132  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

rainfall,  type  of  soil,  and  a  number  of  other  factors.  It 
is  impossible,  therefore,  to  say  that  any  given  amount  of 
water  should  be  applied. 

Widtsoe l  and  his  associates  working  at  the  Utah  Sta- 
tion found  that  on  a  gravelly  loam  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
seven  inches  of  water  gave  higher  yields  than  either  more 
or  less.  On  a  deep  fertile  soil  there  was  an  increase  in 
yield  with  increased  application  of  water  up  to  fifty  inches. 
There  was  a  gain  of  nearly  five  tons  to  the  acre  when  the 
amount  of  water  was  increased  from  five  to  ten  inches, 
but  when  more  than  ten  inches  were  given,  the  increase 
in  tonnage  was  slight.  One  acre  of  land  with  thirty 
inches  of  water  applied  produced  20.28  tons,  but  when  this 
amount  of  water  was  spread  over  six  acres  of  land  it  gave 
a  total  yield  of  82.68  tons. 

Investigations  carried  out  in  Colorado  by  Mead 2  and 
his  co-workers,  covering  twenty  fields  irrigated  in  the 
usual  way,  showed  that  the  average  amount  of  water 
applied  during  the  season  was  15.6  inches.  Most  farmers 
irrigated  from  one  to  four  times  with  about  5.8  inches  to 
the  application.  The  same  investigations  showed  that 
for  Montana  and  Arizona  the  irrigation  season  lasted 
from  July  13  to  August  17,  during  which  time  an  average 
of  25.8  inches  of  water  was  applied. 

Roeding,3  from  experiments  in  Colorado,  concluded 
that  a  higher  yield  to  the  acre  was  produced  from  about 
11.3  inches  of  water  applied  in  two  irrigations  than  from 

1  Widtsoe,  J.  A.,  et  al,Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Buls.  Nos.  80,  116,  117, 
118,  119,  and  120. 

2  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Off.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  158. 

3  Roeding,  F.  W.,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers1  Bui.  No.  392. 


Irrigation  and  Drainage  133 

larger  quantities  in  three  or  four  irrigations.  Irrigating 
every  row  was  found  to  be  much  superior  to  running  the 
water  down  alternate  rows.  Keeping  the  soil  constantly 
wet  was  also  found  to  be  detrimental  to  the  crop.  Beckett,1 
in  California,  ascertained  the  yield  of  beets  to  increase 
with  the  increase  of  water.  This  was,  however,  affected 
by  the  time  of  planting. 

The  author 2  determined  that  when  weekly  irrigations 
were  given,  one  inch  each  week  gave  a  higher  yield  than 
when  more  was  given.  These  results  are  shown  in  Fig.  50. 
It  will  be  noted  from  the  variation  in  the  water  require- 
ments of  beets  under  different  conditions  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  give  a  definite  duty  of  water  for  beets  under 
all  conditions. 

Time  to  apply  water. 

No  set  rule  can  be  given  as  to  the  time  to  irrigate  beets, 
except  to  say  that  when  the  land  becomes  too  dry  for 
favorable  growth,  it  is  time  to  add  water.  This  condition 
will  come  at  different  times  in  the  life  of  the  plant  under 
different  conditions. 

McClatchie,3  working  in  Arizona,  found  that  if  seeding 
was  done  during  the  cool  part  of  the  year,  the  crop  needed 
no  irrigation  for  a  month  or  so  after  planting,  but  if  grown 
during  the  time  of  warm  weather  of  early  fall,  it  needed 
frequent  watering  till  the  weather  became  cool.  If  the 
beets  were  planted  in  the  warm  spring  weather,  irrigation 
was  necessary  during  the  entire  period  of  growth.  Where 

1  Beckett,  S.  H.,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  No.  10. 

2  Harris,  F.  S.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  156. 

« McClatchie,  A.  J.,  Ariz.  Exp.  Sta.,  Buls.  Nos.  31  and  41. 


134  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

the  land  was  so  dry  as  to  necessitate  irrigating  the  seed- 
bed, it  was  judged  better  to  irrigate  before  seeding  than 
immediately  after. 

Knight,1  in  Nevada,  concluded  that  "fall-plowed  land 
sometimes  requires  an  application  of  water  before  seed- 
ing/' but  a  poor  stand  generally  results  from  an  irrigation 
immediately  after  planting.  Where  spring  watering  is 
necessary,  it  should  be  done  as  early  as  possible,  and  when 
the  land  is  sufficiently  dry,  should  be  deeply  cultivated. 
He  found  that  where  beets  received  no  irrigation  until 
they  failed  to  revive  at  night  from  the  wilting  of  the  day, 
an  unsatisfactory  crop  resulted. 

Knorr,2  at  Scottsbluff  in  Nebraska,  secured  the  best 
results  when  beets  were  irrigated  at  such  times  as  to 
keep  the  plants  in  good  growing  condition  from  the 
tune  of  thinning  until  about  three  weeks  before  harvest. 
The  irrigations  should  be  in  moderate  amounts  and  the 
soil  never  so  dry  that  the  plants  suffer  for  lack  of  moisture. 
He  found  it  desirable  to  cultivate  the  beets  to  break  the 
crust  by  irrigating  as  soon  as  the  soil  became  dry  enough. 
Sugar-beets  receiving  three  irrigations  during  the  growing 
season  gave  a  yield  of  1.6  tons  to  the  acre  more  if  they 
also  received  an  irrigation  the  previous  fall,  than  those 
receiving  water  only  in  the  growing  season. 

The  author,3  in  order  to  determine  the  critical  periods 
in  the  life  of  the  sugar-beet  for  water,  divided  the  life  of 
the  plant  into  four  stages  of  growth  and  added  water  in 

1  Knight,  C.  S.,  Nev.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  75,  and  Ann.  Rpt.  for 
1915. 

2  Knorr,  F.,  Neb.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  141. 

» Harris,  F.  S.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  156. 


Irrigation  and  Drainage  135 

five-inch  irrigations  to  these  various  stages  both  singly 
and  in  various  combinations.  The  results  are  shown  in 
Fig.  15,  which  gives  the  average  yield  of  roots  and  tops 
for  the  various  treatments.  The  lowest  yield  was  ob- 
tained when  the  land  was  irrigated  after  the  seed  was 
planted  and  before  it  came  up.  The  yield  with  this  treat- 
ment was  decidedly  less  than  it  was  when  no  water  was 
given. 

Comparing  the  various  periods  in  which  but  one  five- 
inch  irrigation  was  given,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  third 
period,  when  the  beets  averaged  two  inches  in  diameter, 
was  the  most  favorable ;  the  last  period,  when  the  beets 
were  nearly  ripe,  was  the  least  favorable.  The  second 
period  was  decidedly  more  favorable  than  the  first.  It 
will  be  noted  further  that  the  yield  of  tops  was  greatest 
with  the  very  late  irrigation.  This  means  that  the  farmer 
by  looking  at  his  beet  field  will  doubtless  be  deceived  into 
thinking  that  the  very  late  irrigation  is  increasing  his 
yield  much  more  than  it  really  is. 

-  Upon  examining  the  plants  receiving  two,  three,  and 
four  irrigations,  the  greater  value  of  irrigation  water 
during  the  third  stage  is  clearly  evident.  The  highest 
yield  was  received  where  a  total  of  fifteen  inches  was  ap- 
plied. It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  weekly  irri- 
gations a  higher  yield  was  obtained  for  12.8  inches  than 
for  32  inches.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  total  require- 
ment of  sugar-beets  for  irrigation  water  is  not  large,  but 
that  the  period  of  application  is  important. 

The  old  ideas,  that  it  is  necessary  to  withhold  water 
until  the  beets  suffer  before  giving  the  first  irrigation  and 
that  irrigation  should  be  discontinued  five  or  six  weeks 


•136 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


before  harvest,  have  been  proven  to  be  false.  If  the  plant 
suffers  for  water  either  early  in  the  season  or  late,  the 
yield  of  the  crop  will  be  reduced.  The  soil  auger  will  be 
found  valuable  in  determining  the  moisture  condition  of 
the  subsoil,  and  will  thereby  assist  the  farmer  in  judging 
when  to  irrigate. 

Size  of  irrigation. 

The  amount  of  water  to  apply  in  each  irrigation  is  a 
subject  of  constant  discussion  among  irrigators,  who  seem 
unable  to  come  to  any  definite  agreement.  This  must 


Fio.  14.  —  Effect  of  weekly  irrigations  on  yield  of  beets  and  tops.     Utah. 


Irrigation  and  Drainage 


137 


vary  with  a  number  of  factors,  the  most  important  of 
which  are  the  depth  and  texture  of  the  soil.  A  light 
irrigation  of  one  to  two  inches  would  be  ample  for  a 
shallow  sandy  soil,  whereas  five  or  six  inches  might  well 
be  given  a  deep  loam  or  clay.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind 
that  the  beet  is  a  deep-rooted  plant  and  that  sufficient 
moisture  should  be  added  to  moisten  the  land  as  deeply 
as  the  roots  penetrate.  Where  the  soil  is  suitable,  a  few 
rather  heavy  irrigations  have  given  better  results  than 
many  small  ones.  The  reverse  is  true  for  potatoes. 

Relation  of  irrigation  to  size,  shape,  and  quality  of  beets. 
(Figs.  14-21.) 

Many  tests  have  been  made  to  determine  the  effect  of 
irrigation  water  on  the  nature  of  the  beets.  These  tests 


Effect  of  irrigation  at  different  stages  on  yield  of  beets 
tops.     Utah. 


138 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


Per&tnt  Jucfose 


Pzrctnt  Purity 


FIG.  16.  —  Effect  of  weekly  irrigations  on  percentage  of  sucrose   and 
purity.     Utah. 


have  given  rather  conflicting  results.  Observations  by 
Schneidewind  *  and  others  in  Germany  in  the  period  from 
1896  to  1906  showed  that,  although  the  yields  are  smaller, 
root  crops  are  richer  in  carbohydrates  and  protein  in  dry 
years  than  in  wet  ones ;  hence  the  net  influence  of  weather 
is  not  so  great  as  it  is  ordinarily  thought  to  be.  High- 
bred, resistant  strains  showed  less  variation  in  dry  and 
wet  years  than  did  common  varieties. 

1  Landw.  Jahrb.  36  (1917),  No.  4,  pp.  474-581. 


Irrigation  and  Drainage 


139 


Widtsoe  and  Stewart 1  found  that  although  there  was 
only  a  slight  increase  in  the  percentage  sucrose  with  the 
water  applied  up  to  thirty-five  inches,  the  percentage 
of  carbohydrates  increased  with  increased  quantities  of 
water  used.  Starch  and  cellulose,  therefore,  increased 
with  heavier  applications.  The  application  of  fifty  inches 
in  every  case  decreased  the  sucrose-content.  The  purity 
was  lowest  with  the  smallest  quantities  of  water  and  was 
highest  with  intermediate  applications  up  to  twenty 


.  Percent  Sucros* 


Percent  PurHy 


FIG.  17.  —  Effect  of    irrigation    at   different   stages   on   percentage   of 
sucrose  and  purity.     Utah. 

inches.     The  percentage  of  sucrose  and  the  purity  were 
higher  in  October  than  in  September. 

Investigations  made  by  the  author2  on  the  effect  of 
irrigation  water  on  the  quality,  size,  and  shape  of  beets 

1  Widtsoe,  J.  A.,  and  Stewart,  R.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  120. 

2  Harris,  F.  S.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui  No.  156. 


140 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


are  illustrated  in  Figs.  16  and  17.     In  Fig.  16  both  the 
percentage  sucrose  and  the  purity  are  shown  to  be  some- 


I  inch 

wecKty 


2,%/nchcs  «5"  inches  l%.inchet 


weekly 


wee/f/y 


wecKly 


WetX/y 


Total 


I  Overage  weight  of  Beets  E3  Overage  length  of^ 

FIG.  18.  —  Effect  of  weekly  irrigations  on  average  weight  and  length  of 
beets.     Utah. 

what  higher  in  all  the  beets  that  were  irrigated  weekly 
than  in  those  receiving  no  irrigation.  The  highest  sugar- 
content  was  in  the  beets  receiving  two  and  one-half  inches 
of  water  each  week.  Figure  17  indicates  the  lowest 
sugar-content,  as  well  as  the  lowest  purity,  to  have  been 
produced  on  the  plat  receiving  water  only  when  the  beets 
were  approaching  maturity.  The  highest  sugar-content 


Irrigation  and  Drainage 


141 


with  a  single  irrigation  was  in  the  beets  irrigated  when 
about  two  inches  in  diameter. 

The  average  weight  of  beets  under  the  different  treat- 
ments is  given  in  Figs.  18  and  19,  which  show  that  the 
size  of  beets  follows  closely  the  relationships  that  have 
already  been  pointed  out  for  yield.  This  was  to  be  ex- 
pected, since  the  stand  on  all  plats  was  practically  the 
same  in  the  spring  and  yield  was  largely,  but  not  entirely, 
an  expression  of  size.  The  size  of  beets  irrigated  only  at 
the  fourth  state  was  proportionately  smaller  than  the 
yield  would  indicate. 

The  length  of  beets  is  also  given  in  Figs.  18  and  19. 
Figure  18  illustrates  that  when  seven  and  one-half  inches 
of  water  were  given  each  week,  the  length  of  beets  averaged 
slightly  less  than  those  receiving  no  water.  The  longest 


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|  Overage  weight  of  Beets     %   Overage  le.nqttiofQetts 

FIG.  19.  —  Effect  of  irrigation  at  different  stages  on  average  weight  and 

length  of  beets.     Utah. 

142 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


beets  under  the  weekly  irrigations  were  produced  by  one 
inch  of  water  each  week,  but  the  differences  due  to  the 
treatments  were  very  slight. 


•  Percent  Forked  Beets 
E3  Overage,  height  Tops 


FIG.  20.  —  Effect  of  weekly  irrigations  on  percentage  of  forked  beets 
and  height  of  tops.     Utah. 

Figure  19  shows  that  five  inches  of  water  applied  at  any 
period  made  the  beets  longer  than  those  that  were  not 
irrigated.  The  longest  beets  were  those  irrigated  at  the 
first  three  stages.  The  very  late  irrigation  had  but  little 
effect  in  lengthening  the  beets. 

There  is  a  popular  idea  among  farmers  that  the  first 
irrigation  should  be  delayed  just  as  long  as  possible  in 


PLATE  XIII.  —  Above,  tanks  used  in  determining  the  amount  of  water 
used  by  sugar-beets,  Utah ;  center,  machine  for  digging  drain  ditches ; 
much  drained  land  is  planted  to  sugar-beets :  hdow,  (a)  topped  too  low, 
(6)  topped  at  proper  place,  (c)  topped  too  high. 


Irrigation  and  Drainage 


143 


order  to  induce  the  beets  to  go  deeply  into  the  soil.  In 
order  to  increase  length,  some  farmers  even  allow  their 
beets  positively  to  be  injured  by  drought  before  applying 
water.  The  results  reported  here,  which  represent  many 
thousands  of  careful  measurements  during  five  years, 
show  that  this  idea  is  wrong.  In  the  ordinary  good  beet 
soil  that  is  well-drained,  an  irrigation  does  not  decrease 
the  depth  of  penetration  of  beets;  it  rather  assists  them 
to  go  deeper.  Of  course  this  does  not  contradict  the  well- 
known  fact  that  beets  are  likely  to  be  shorter  on  a  soil 
that  is  water-logged,  such  as  that  in  which  a  total  of  96 
inches  of  water  was  applied.  In  view  of  these  experiments, 
it  seems  folly  to  let  beets  suffer  for  water  and  be  injured 
permanently  in  order  to  make  them  root  deeply. 

The  percentage  of  forked  beets  is  shown,  by  Figs.  20 
and  21,  to  bear  no  consistent  relationship  to  the  amount 


I  Pfrctar  ftrKtd  See  to 
Qttrtjc.  A  eight  Top* 


FIG.  21.  —  Effect  of  irrigation  at  different  stages  on  percentage  of  forked 
beets  and  height  of  tops.     Utah. 


144  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

of  water  or  to  the  time  of  application.  In  the  weekly 
irrigation  tests,  the  beets  that  were  not  irrigated  had  the 
largest  number  of  forked  roots,  whereas  in  the  plats  that 
had  water  applied  at  different  periods,  the  plat  receiving 
water  only  at  the  first  stage  had  the  least  number  of  forked 
roots.  The  greatest  number  was  on  plats  irrigated  early 
and  late.  The  differences,  therefore,  are  not  consistent  and 
the  idea  that  any  method  of  irrigation  greatly  increases 
the  tendency  toward  forkedness  seems  unwarranted. 

An  examination  of  Figs.  20  and  21  for  the  effect  of 
treatment  on  the  height  of  tops  reveals  a  rather  close 
relationship  between  this  and  the  yield  of  tops,  but  not 
the  yield  of  beets,  which  has  already  been  discussed  in 
connection  with  Figs.  14  and  15. 

DRAINAGE 

Reasons  for  drainage.     (Fig.  22.) 

Many  millions  of  acres  of  land  in  the  United  States 
contain  so  much  water  that  crops  cannot  be  raised  suc- 
cessfully. Part  of  this  land  is  in  permanent  swamps; 
some  of  it  is  dry  during  a  part  of  the  year,  being  water- 
logged only  at  certain  seasons.  Much  land,  having  a  dry 
surface  appearance,  contains  ground-water  so  near  that 
roots  cannot  penetrate  to  any  great  depth.  The  chief 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  successful  agriculture  in  all  such 
places  is  the  surplus  of  water.  The  only  way  to  make 
this  land  suitable  for  crops  is  to  drain  it. 

In  most  arid  regions,  much  of  the  land  contains  a  high 
percentage  of  soluble  salts.  These  often  accumulate  near 
the  surface  in  such  large  quantities  that  the  growth  of 


Irrigation  and  Drainage  145 

plants  is  prevented.  Drainage,  which  gradually  removes 
these  salts,  is  the  only  method  of  reclaiming  alkali  land 
permanently.  Much  land  that  is 
at  present  valueless  on  account  of 
its  high  alkali-content  would  be 
of  excellent  quality  were  its  excess 
salts  removed.  In  fact,  some  of 
the  highest  yields  of  sugar-beets 
are  obtained  on  land  thus  re- 
claimed. 


Effects  of  drainage. 

The  drainage  of  wet  land  im- 
proves  it  in  many  indirect,  as  well      FIG.  22.  —  Drainage 
as   direct,   ways.      Lowering   the   trench  dug  with  a  machine. 

/  It  is  ready  for  the  tile. 

water-table  gives  plants  a  larger 

zone  from  which  their  roots  can  draw  plant-food  and 
moisture.  This  lessens  the  need  of  fertilizers  and  the 
susceptibility  to  drought.  The  increased  aeration  of  the 
soil  resulting  from  drainage  promotes  the  growth  of 
desirable  organisms,  increases  favorable  chemical  action, 
and  makes  the  soil  a  much  more  desirable  home  for 
plants.  It  warms  the  soil  earlier  in  the  spring,  thereby 
increasing  the  length  of  the  growing  season  of  crops. 

Drainage  improves  the  sanitary  conditions  of  a  region 
by  drying  the  breeding  places  of  disease  germs  and  dis- 
ease-carrying insects.  It  lessens  the  winter-killing  of 
crops  by  reducing  heaving  of  the  soil,  and  it  decidedly 
improves  structure  and  tilth.  All  of  these  benefits  work- 
ing together  result  in  a  good  net  profit  in  almost  every 
case  in  which  drainage  is  properly  done.  It  is  a  common 
L 


146  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

experience  that  when  twelve  or  fifteen  dollars  are  spent 
in  drainage,  the  value  of  the  land  is  increased  from  twenty- 
five  to  fifty  or  more  dollars. 

Kinds  of  drains. 

Any  one  method  of  drainage  is  not  suitable  for  all  con- 
ditions, nor  is  it  always  practicable  to  employ  the  method 
that  might  seem  best.  The  entire  set  of  conditions  must 
be  taken  into  consideration  before  deciding  just  how  to 
drain  a  piece  of  land.  Open  ditches  are  probably  the 
cheapest  method  of  carrying  away  the  water.  They  are 
used  to  advantage  in  draining  ponds  and  other  surface 
accumulations.  The  chief  advantages  of  the  open  drain 
are :  (1)  the  cheapness  with  which  it  can  be  constructed, 
and  (2)  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be  cleaned.  Some 
disadvantages  are  that  it  renders  waste  the  land  occupied 
and  cuts  the  land  area  into  small  fields  that  are  difficult 
to  get  at.  The  open  ditches  become  filled  with  falling 
earth  and  weeds,  and  are  a  constant  source  of  danger  to 
farm  animals. 

Some  form  of  covered  drain  is  usually  preferable  for 
ordinary  purposes.  With  the  covered  drain,  a  trench 
is  dug  and  some  material  that  will  allow  water  to  pass 
through  is  placed  in  the  bottom.  This  is  covered  later 
with  earth.  Some  of  the  materials  used  for  such  drains 
are  rocks,  brush,  lumber,  clay  tile,  and  cement  tile.  The 
last  two  are  by  far  the  most  common.  Where  clay  tile 
can  be  secured,  it  is  recommended  under  almost  all  con- 
ditions, especially  for  land  high  in  alkali. 


Irrigation  and  Drainage  147 

Installing  the  drainage  system. 

The  first  step  in  draining  land  is  to  lay  out  the  system. 
Some  kind  of  instrument  for  getting  levels  must  be  used 
to  determine  the  contours  and  to  decide  where  to  place 
the  drain  lines.  A  level  is  also  necessary  to  find  the 
proper  depth  for  the  trenches.  After  the  system  is  laid 
out,  the  ditches  are  dug  either  by  hand  or  by  machinery. 
In  early  days  they  were  practically  always  dug  by  hand, 
but  modern  machinery  now  does  the  work  much  more 
cheaply.  Tile  should  probably  not  be  placed  nearer  the 
surface  than  two  feet  or  deeper  than  six  or  eight  feet  ex- 
cept in  unusual  cases.  Usually  five  feet  is  a  good  depth. 

The  bottom  of  the  ditch  should  have  a  uniform  grade ; 
otherwise,  the  flow  of  drainage  water  will  be  uneven  and 
silt  will  be  deposited  in  low  places.  In  sections  where 
springs  of  fresh  water  occur,  there  is  a  tendency  for  roots 
to  clog  the  drains.  They  must  then  be  placed  deeper 
than  would  otherwise  be  necessary.  Care  should  be 
taken  to  have  the  joints  of  the  tile  fit  well  together  to 
avoid  filling  with  dirt.  The  work  of  covering  can  usually 
be  done  with  a  team  and  scraper.  The  outlet  should  be 
screened  to  keep  out  small  water-loving  animals,  and 
should  be  constructed  so  that  it  will  not  be  clogged  easily. 
If  an  extensive  drainage  system  is  to  be  laid  out,  an  en- 
gineer should  be  consulted. 


CHAPTER  XI 
HARVESTING 

ON  the  returns  of  the  harvest  depend  the  profits  of  the 
year.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  raise  a  good  crop;  it  must 
also  be  gathered  and  husbanded.  The  farmer's  respon- 
sibility does  not  cease  till  he  has  delivered  the  result  of 
the  harvest  to  the  purchaser  and  secured  his  pay.  It 
would  be  folly  indeed  to  take  great  care  in  preparing  a 
seed-bed,  in  planting,  in  cultivating,  in  irrigating,  and  in 
conducting  the  other  operations  involved  in  raising  beets, 
and  then  be  less  vigilant  in  harvesting  the  crop.  The 
harvest  time  is  a  very  busy  season  and  help  is  often  scarce. 
For  this  reason,  there  is  a  constant  temptation  to  rush 
the  work  and  thereby  to  slight  it.  Giving  way  to  this 
temptation  means  the  giving  away  of  part  of  the  season's 
profit. 

TIME   OF  HARVEST 

The  proper  time  to  harvest  beets  varies  greatly  with 
conditions.  In  parts  of  California  and  in  other  warm 
climates,  digging  may  begin  early  in  July  and  extend  for 
two  or  three  months.  In  most  of  the  other  sugar-beet 
areas,  digging  starts  in  September  and  continues  till  the 
time  the  land  usually  freezes  hard.  The  time  to  begin  in 

148 


Harvesting  149 

any  locality  will  be  affected  somewhat  by  the  area  in 
beets.  If  the  acreage  is  large  and  the  mill  will  have  a 
long  run,  digging  may  begin  before  the  beets  are  en- 
tirely ripe  in  order  that  the  farmers  may  be  able  to  get 
all  the  beets  dug  before  they  are  frozen  in  the  ground. 
Since  it  is  impossible  to  predict  the  kind  of  autumn, 
mistakes  are  often  made  in  the  time  to  commence  dig- 
ging. For  example,  in  1916  over  some  sugar-beet  areas 
the  land  froze  solid  very  early  and  thousands  of  acres 
of  beets  rotted  in  the  ground.  If  this  condition  could 
have  been  predicted,  digging  would  have  been  started 
earlier  and  pushed  faster.  In  1917  the  previous  year's 
record  was  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all  and  probably 
hastened  digging  somewhat.  As  it  happened,  however, 
the  fall  remained  open  till  late  and  all  the  beets  were 
harvested  before  it  was  necessary. 

Beets  should  usually  be  harvested  when  they  are 
mature.  This  is  not  an  absolutely  definite  point,  but  the 
general  condition  of  maturity  can  be  told  rather  easily. 
It  is  indicated  by  the  browning  of  the  lower  leaves  and 
a  yellowing  of  all  the  foliage.  The  leaves  also  lose  their 
vigor  and  have  a  drooping  appearance.  Ripeness  is  also 
indicated  by  the  sugar-content  and  purity,  but  it  cannot 
be  told  by  analysis  alone,  since  the  composition  of  the 
beets  is  variable  under  different  conditions.  A  beet  may 
be  said  to  be  ripe  when  the  foliage  has  the  appearance 
just  described  and  when  analysis  shows  a  satisfactory 
sugar-content  and  purity. 

The  sugar  company  contracting  for  beets  reserves  the 
right  to  say  when  they  should  be  dug.  This  is  necessary 
in  order  that  the  beets  may  be  received  regularly  during 


150  The  Sugar- Beet  in  America 

the  slicing  season  and  also  because  the  company's  agri- 
culturists, aided  by  chemical  analyses,  are  better  able 
to  judge  the  proper  time  to  dig  than  the  individual  farmer, 
who  might  allow  the  date  of  digging  to  be  influenced  more 
by  personal  convenience  than  by  the  condition  of  the 
beets.  It  is  easy  for  the  farmer,  desiring  to  close  off  his 
fall  work  as  soon  as  possible,  to  make  the  mistake  of 
digging  too  early.  It  is  difficult  for  him  to  realize  that  it 
is  during  the  last  few  weeks  of  growth  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  sugar  is  stored  in  the  beet,  and  that  the  ton- 
nage is  also  materially  increased  at  that  time.  During 
its  early  stages  of  growth  the  beet  plant  is  sending  out 
roots  and  leaves  and  most  of  its  food  is  used  in  growth. 
Only  when  growth  is  nearly  complete  is  the  plant  in  a 
position  to  do  any  large  amount  of  storing. 

Under  a  number  of  conditions  the  beet  plant  may  begin 
to  ripen  and  store  sugar,  then  later  begin  another  period 
of  growth  and  the  sugar-content  be  reduced.  These 
conditions  are  to  be  avoided.  Every  effort  should  be 
made  to  keep  the  plant  growing  up  to  the  time  of  final 
ripening.  A  period  of  drought  in  the  early  fall  may  pro- 
mote ripening;  and  if  followed  by  warm  rains  or  by  an 
irrigation,  the  plant  may  send  out  new  leaf  and  root 
growth  and  use  a  part  of  the  sugar  that  has  been  stored. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  mistake  to  let  the  beets  become  dry  any 
great  period  before  the  time  of  digging.  Some  of  the 
conditions  bringing  about  this  reduction  in  sugar  are 
beyond  the  farmer's  control,  but  he  should  be  watchful  to 
make  favorable  the  conditions  of  which  he  is  master. 


PLATE  XIV.  —  Abore,  two-blade  beet  lifter  at  work,  Colorado  (Cour- 
tesy Perlin  and  Orendorff)  ;  below,  topping  beets  that  have  previously 
been  thrown  into  piles,  Colorado  (Courtesy  American  Beet  Sugar  Co.). 


Harvesting 


DIGGING 


151 


Two  processes  may  be  included  under  digging :  namely, 
"lifting"  and  "pulling."  The  lifting  is  done  by  means 
of  some  sort  of  implement  especially  made  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  ordinary  plow  can  be  used,  but  it  is  very 


FIG.  23.  —  Two-blade  riding  beet  lifter. 

wasteful  of  power  and  it  causes  considerable  damage  to 
the  beets. 

One  type  of  lifter  is  made  on  the  plan  of  a  subsoil  plow 
with  a  single  point  that  is  pulled  along  the  beet  row  to 
break  the  beets  loose  from  the  soil.  It  also  raises  them 
slightly.  This  is  the  simplest  kind  of  implement.  It  is 
cheap  and  effective,  but  has  to  be  operated  by  hand,  and 
the  operator  walks. 

A  type  of  lifter  that  is  probably  in  greater  use  con- 


152  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

sists  of  two  points  parallel  to  each  other,  one  on  each  side 
of  the  row.  Fig.  23,  Plate  XIV.  As  it  moves  along 
the  row,  the  beets  pass  between  the  two  points,  being 
slightly  raised  but  remaining  standing  in  the  soil.  Some 
of  these  are  operated  by  a  man  walking ;  others  are  ar- 
ranged on  a  sort  of  cart  and  are  controlled  by  a  man 
who  rides.  Several  companies  manufacture  implements 
of  this  type  that  give  satisfaction.  Probably  no  one 
type  is  best  for  all  conditions. 

After  the  beets  are  lifted  in  this  way,  they  are  pulled 
by  hand  and  thrown  into  piles  for  convenience  in  top- 
ping. Sometimes  the  piles  are  made  without  regard  to 
any  order  of  piling;  at  other  times  the  beets  are  placed 
in  such  a  way  that  all  the  tops  lie  in  one  direction.  With- 
out doubt  this  arrangement  makes  topping  easier.  If 
the  beets  are  not  taken  from  the  ground  immediately  after 
lifting,  there  is  a  tendency  for  the  soil  to  become  compact 
again  around  the  roots  and  increase  the  work  of  pulling. 

Two  beets  are  knocked  together  when  they  are  pulled 
to  remove  as  much  of  the  dirt  as  possible.  The  dirt  when 
handled  several  times  with  the  beets  adds  considerably 
to  the  work  involved,  and  it  does  no  good  since  it  is  taken 
off  as  tare  when  the  beets  are  finally  delivered  to  the 
sugar  company.  Unclean  beets  are  a  source  of  annoy- 
ance to  all  concerned  in  handling  them.  Sometimes  the 
beets  are  pulled  and  topped  in  one  operation,  but  this 
practice  is  not  common. 

TOPPING  (PLATES  xm,  xiv,  xv) 

Topping  is  one  of  the  important  operations,  and  unless 
properly  done  results  in  considerable  loss.  It  is  an  ad- 


PLATE  XV.  —  Above,  topping  beets  that  have  been  laid  in  rows  with 
the  tops  all  one  way,  California  (Courtesy  Union  Sugar  Co.)  ;  center, 
beet  silo  in  field,  showing,  a  common  form  of  beet  rack  (Courtesy  Tru- 
man G.  Palmer)  ;  below,  rack  containing  net  to  assist  in  unloading, 
California.  (Courtesy  Union  Sugar  Co.) 


Harvesting  153 

vantage  to  both  the  farmer  and  the  sugar  company  to 
have  the  beets  properly  topped.  The  cut  should  be  made 
just  at  the  sunline  as  shown  in  Plate  XIII.  This  is  in- 
dicated by  the  coloring  in  the  part  of  the  beet  that  pro- 
trudes above  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

The  crown  is  low  in  sugar,  as  shown  in  Fig.  6.  It  is 
also  high  in  salts,  which  interfere  greatly  in  the  purifica- 
tion of  the  sugar.  These  salts  must  be  removed  before 
the  sugar  can  be  made  to  crystallize.  The  salts  so 
troublesome  to  the  sugar  makers  are  some  of  the  very 
ones  that  are  desirable  for  plant-food  in  the  soil ;  it  is  to 
the  interest  of  the  farmer  to  have  them  retained  on  the 
land.  The  sugar  company  wants  only  the  sugar,  which 
is  the  part  that  comes  from  the  air;  the  fanner  needs 
the  salts  in  order  to  maintain  the  fertility  of  his  soil. 
Proper  topping  serves  the  interests  of  both  farmer  and 
factory. 

When  the  beets  are  piled  in  windrows  with  the  leaves 
all  one  way,  the  toppers  can  go  along  the  windrows  on 
their  knees  and  do  the  topping  without  much  bending. 
When  the  person  doing  the  topping  stands,  he  must  do 
considerable  bending  in  picking  up  the  beets.  This  is 
in  part  overcome  by  having  a  hook  fastened  to  the  knife 
near  the  point.  The  hook  is  driven  into  the  beet,  which 
is  thereby  picked  up  without  the  operator  having  to 
stoop  so  far.  Some  object  to  the  use  of  the  hook  since 
the  wound  it  makes  in  the  beet  doubtless  results  in  a 
slight  loss  of  sugar.  Whether  this  loss  is  enough  to  make 
up  for  the  advantage  is  not  known. 

After  the  beets  are  topped,  they  are  piled  on  a  place 
that  has  been  cleared  of  tops.  They  are  now  ready  to  be 


154  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

hauled.  If  hauling  is  delayed,  the  pile  should  be  covered 
with  tops  to  prevent  evaporation  of  moisture,  which 
amounts  to  considerable  weight  on  a  hot  day.  Care 
should  be  taken  that  tops  are  not  mixed  through  the 
pile  of  beets,  as  they  are  very  troublesome  later  on  at  the 
mill. 

MECHANICAL  HARVESTER 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  secure  machines 
for  the  digging  and  topping,  but  these  machines  have 
not  been  widely  used  in  the  past.  It  seems,  however, 
that  at  present  machines  are  available  to  do  as  good 
topping  as  can  be  performed  by  hand  and  more  quickly 
and  at  much  less  expense.  Many  of  these  are  being 
manufactured  and  it  is  hoped  that  hand-topping  may  soon 
be  relegated  to  the  past.  If  these  machines  are  entirely 
successful,  the  labor  question  in  sugar-beet  raising  will 
be  greatly  simplified. 

There  are  two  general  types  of  harvesters :  one  that 
tops  the  beets  and  leaves  the  root  in  the  ground  to  be 
lifted  with  another  implement;  after  the  tops  have 
been  raked  into  windrows,  the  ordinary  lifter  is  used.  An 
attachment  that  is  fitted  to  the  lifter  has  been  devised 
and  its  use  facilitates  the  lifting  process.  This  attach- 
ment also  removes  most  of  the  dirt  that  would  otherwise 
attach  to  the  root. 

The  other  type  of  harvester  first  lifts  the  beet  and 
then  tops  it.  This  type  of  machine  is  fitted  with  equip- 
ment that  delivers  the  roots  in  piles  at  one  side,  or  with 
an  extension  of  the  delivery  carrier,  the  roots  are  elevated 
directly  into  a  wagon  that  is  driven  alongside  the  har- 


PLATE  XVI.  —  Above,  beet  dump  in  common  use  in  many  sections, 
California ;  below,  car  dump  with  hydraulic  jack,  California.  (Cour- 
tesy Truman  G.  Palmer.) 


Harvesting  155 

vester.    The  tops  are  delivered,  separate  from  the  roots, 
and  left  in  windrows  or  piles. 

This  latter  type  of  machine  moves  under  its  own 
power,  using  a  light-weight,  high-speed  gasoline  engine. 
The  first  type  described  is  drawn  by  a  team  and  requires 
about  the  same  power  to  propel  it  as  does  a  mowing  ma- 
chine that  is  cutting  alfalfa. 

HAULING  (PLATES  xv,  xvi) 

Beets  are  taken  to  the  factory  or  to  the  railroad  load- 
ing stations  in  wagons  which  are  usually  fitted  with 
special  racks.  The  ordinary  wagon  box  can  be  used,  but 
much  labor  is  saved  by  having  a  rack  made  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  beets  are  thrown  from  the  field  piles  into  the 
wagon  by  hand  or  with  a  beet  fork.  If  no  dumps  are 
available,  the  beets  must  be  thrown  from  the  wagon  into 
cars  or  into  pile  silos  with  a  fork.  Hand  unloading  in- 
volves considerable  hand  labor,  but  fortunately  it  has  to 
be  resorted  to  in  a  few  places  only.  In  most  of  the  beet- 
producing  sections,  conveniences  for  lessening  hand  labor 
are  at  hand. 

A  number  of  types  of  beet  racks  are  used  :  some  merely 
let  down  the  sides ;  others  provide  for  the  entire  rack  to 
turn  on  an  axis  and  dump  out  the  beets.  These  racks 
are  made  to  hold  from  two  to  seven  tons  and  average  about 
four  tons.  Nets  are  sometimes  used  to  help  in  unload- 
ing. These  are  placed  in  the  rack  before  the  beets  are 
loaded,  and  with  their  aid  the  entire  load  may  be  lifted 
off  at  once. 

Different  companies  have   various   methods   of   han- 


156  The  Su\    -B; .-./.  in  America 

dling  beets  at  the  rece  i  ig  stations  and  different  arrange- 
ments for  weighing.  One  method  is  carried  out  as  fol- 
lows: When  the  farmer  am  ^5  at  the  dump  with  his 
load,  the  wagon  and  beets  are  weighed  together,  and 
he  is  given  a  ticket  showing  the  weight.  Several  beets 
of  average  size  are  takon  from  the  load  as  a  sample  from 
which  to  determine  sugar-content  and  purity.  He  then 
drives  to  the  dumpir ':  d  dumps  his  load  into  a 

hopper.  From  there  uu^  L^*^  go  into  a  revolving  screen 
where  most  of  the  dirt  is  shaken  off.  It  drops  on  a  belt 
and  is  carried  to  a  dirt  hopper  under  which  the  farmer 
drives  and  gets  his  dirt  back.  This  is  taken  to  the  scales 
and  weighed  with  the  wagon.  From  ten  to  fifty  pounds 
of  the  beets  that  have  passed  over  the  screen  are  weighed, 
and  after  all  dirt  is  removed,  weighed  again.  From  this, 
the  percentage  of  dirt  is  determined  and  the  net  weight 
of  beets  calculated. 

The  problem  of  ascertaining  the  proper  percentage  of 
tare  is  one  on  which  there  is  constant  friction  unless  both 
the  farmers  and  the  factory  are  willing  to  give  as  well 
as  take.  At  best,  the  amount  of  tare  is  only  an  approxi- 
mation, and  every  method  that  can  be  used  to  simplify 
its  determination  will  result  in  more  agreeable  relations 
between  the  farmer  and  the  sugar  company. 

The  providing  of  inadequate  dumping  facilities  often 
leads  to  friction  in  regions  where  the  industry  is  newly 
established;  but  in  the  older  regions  dumps  are  being 
built,  so  that  most  farmers  can  be  accommodated  without 
having  to  haul  great  distances.  A  number  of  convenient 
types  of  dumps  are  being  used. 


Harvesting  157 

SILOING  (PLATE  xvn) 

In  many  places  where  the  land  freezes,  it  is  necessary  to 
remove  the  beets  from  the  ground  several  weeks  before 
they  can  be  sliced  by  the  factories.  This  means  that 
they  must  be  stored  during  this  time.  In  California  and 
other  warm  sections,  the  beets  cannot  be  dug  many  days 
before  they  are  run  through  the  mill  or  they  will  decay; 
but  under  these  conditions  there  is  no  danger  of  the  beets 
being  frozen  in  the  ground,  and  they  are  not  dug  until 
they  can  be  used.  In  storing  beets,  care  must  be  taken  to 
prevent  heating,  evaporation,  and  alternate  freezing  and 
thawing.  This  means  that  the  piles  must  be  so  built 
that  ventilation  is  possible  without  the  evils  resulting 
from  open  exposure.  These  conditions  are  met  differ- 
ently under  different  conditions,  depending  on  the  length 
of  time  the  beets  are  to  be  stored,  the  temperature,  and 
the  quantity  of  beets  to  be  handled.  A  high  temperature 
is  the  greatest  enemy  to  stored  beets. 

In  Colorado,  Idaho,  and  Utah,  the  beets  that  cannot  be 
handled  in  the  bins  at  the  factories  are  stored  in  large 
flat-topped  piles  several  feet  deep.  These  are  carefully 
watched,  and  if  any  begin  to  spoil  the  pile  is  opened  where 
the  heating  begins.  In  some  places  beets  are  stored  on 
the  individual  farms.  This  is  usually  done  in  covered 
ricks  similar  to  those  described  in  Chapter  XV.  -In  these 
piles,  as  in  the  larger  ones,  the  main  things  to  guard  against 
are  heating  and  freezing.  Provision  must  always  be  made 
for  ventilation.  Heat  is  much  more  likely  than  cold  to 
cause  loss. 


CHAPTER  XII 
BY-PRODUCTS 

IN  some  of  the  live-stock  communities,  sugar-beets  are 
becoming  one  of  the  most  important  crops  because  of 
the  large  quantity  of  inexpensive  stock  feed  produced  as 
by-products  of  the  beet-sugar  industry.  It  is  the  opinion 
of  some  experienced  beet-growers,  especially  dairy-men, 
that  beets  would  be  a  profitable  crop  to  raise  in  order  to 
secure  the  tops  for  stock  feed,  even  if  no  profit  were  ob- 
tained from  the  beets  themselves.  In  addition  to  the 
tops,  sufficient  cheap  feed  in  the  form  of  pulp  and  molasses 
is  annually  available  to  fatten  thousands  of  cattle  and 
sheep.  Sugar-beet  regions  are  usually  profitable  live-stock 
sections.  Each  acre  of  sugar-beets  yielding  a  good  crop 
furnishes  nearly  as  much  feed  in  the  form  of  by-products 
as  is  obtained  from  most  ordinary  forage  plants.  The 
best  beet-growers  are  generally  good  stock-men  and  re- 
ceive considerable  of  their  income  from  live-stock. 

SUGAR-BEET  TOPS 

In  topping  the  beets,  there  remains  in  the  field  from 
one-third  to  two-thirds  as  much  weight  as  is  hauled  away. 
This  consists  of  beet  tops  and  crowns.  The  quantity 
varies  considerably  with  the  soil,  climate,  water  received, 

158 


PLATE  XVIII.  — Above,  type  of  beet  dump  in  use  in  Nebraska  (Courtesy 
American  Beet  Sugar  Co.)  ;  below,  sugar  factory  with  beet-pulp  drier 
and  alfalfa-meal  mill  at  the  right,  Kansas.  (Courtesy  Garden  City  Sugar 
and  Land  Co.) 


By-Products  159 

and  maturity  of  the  crop ;  but  under  ordinary  conditions 
about  one-third  of  the  total  weight  of  the  crop  is  left  as 
tops.  This  would  mean  eight  tons  of  tops  for  sixteen, 
tons  of  beets.  The  green  weight  varies  much  more  than 
the  dry  weight.  Between  one  and  two  tons  of  dry  mat- 
ter to  the  acre  in  the  beet  tops  can  be  depended  on  from 
an  average  yield  of  beets,  or  to  put  it  more  definitely,  10 
to  15  per  cent  of  the  net  weight  of  the  roots. 

Much  more  has  been  done  to  utilize  beet  pulp  than  tops ; 
but  the  tops  furnish  a  cheaper  feed  than  the  farmer  can 
obtain  from  any  other  source.  The  reason  for  careless- 
ness in  utilizing  the  tops  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  are  a  by-product  and  their  true  value  has  been 
underestimated.  When  dried  in  the  field,  beet  tops 
contain  about  the  same  amount  of  nutrients  as  an  equal 
weight  of  alfalfa  hay;  their  feeding  value  is  about  the 
same  except  that  they  are  lower  in  nitrogen  and  con- 
tain a  comparatively  large  amount  of  potash  and  organic 
acids,  which  cause  animals  to  scour  when  they  have  un- 
limited access  to  the  tops. 

Composition  of  the  tops. 

The  composition  of  tops  is  shown  in  Table  V.  The 
ash  consists  of  potassium,  sodium,  calcium,  magnesium, 
chlorine,  sulfuric  acid,  silica,  and  phosphoric  acid,  which 
are  valuable  fertilizers  and  should  not  be  taken  from  the 
land.  The  tops  consist  of  two  to  three  parts  of  leaves 
containing  about  2.2  per  cent  ash,  to  one  part  of  crowns 
containing  5.6  per  cent  ash.  Because  of  the  high  ash- 
content  of  the  tops,  it  is  often  advocated  that  they  be 
plowed  under  just  as  they  are  topped  in  order  not  to 


160 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


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By-Products  161 

disturb  the  fertility  of  the  soil ;  but  this  practice  is  not 
economical  when  live-stock  can  be  fed  and  the  manure 
returned  to  the  land.  It  would  be  better,  however,  to 
plow  the  tops  under  than  to  allow  them  to  be  taken 
away  from  the  farm  and  have  no  manure  returned.  It  is 
a  much  more  profitable  practice  to  buy  stock  to  eat  the 
tops  than  to  sell  the  tops,  because  the  price  obtained  for 
them  is  usually  much  below  their  feeding  value,  which 
may  generally  be  considered  as  equal  to  about  one  or  two 
tons  of  alfalfa  hay  for  each  acre  of  beets.  Besides,  if 
their  fertilizer  value  has  to  be  replaced  by  commercial 
fertilizer,  the  loss  is  considerable. 

Feeding  and  storing  beet  tops. 

There  are  three  general  methods  of  feeding  beet  tops. 
The  most  common  consists  in  turning  the  stock  into  the 
fields  to  pasture  the  tops  just  as  they  were  left  when  re- 
moved from  the  beet.  Although  this  is  the  easiest  way, 
it  is  very  wasteful ;  it  is  estimated  that  from  one-third  to 
two-thirds  of  the  tops  are  tramped  into  the  ground  or 
soiled  by  manure  and  dirt.  There  is  also  danger  that 
the  stock  will  over-eat  if  allowed  to  run  freely  to  green 
tops  after  they  have  been  eating  dry  feed.  When  this 
occurs  the  cattle  scour  excessively  and  fattening  is  de- 
layed. This  danger  is  somewhat  lessened  if  the  tops  are 
allowed  to  become  dry.  Tops,  when  left  in  the  open, 
sometimes  tend  to  mold  and  cause  trouble  in  feeding. 
This  is  especially  true  in  humid  sections.  If  pasturing  is 
regulated  somewhat  for  the  first  three  or  four  days,  the 
stock  may  be  trusted  safely  to  feed  on  the  tops  without 
injury.  This  method  is  less  desirable  than  drying  the 


162  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

tops  and  feeding  as  hay  or  than  making  them  into  silage. 
When  labor  is  expensive  and  feed  cheap,  this  may  be  the 
most  economical  method  of  feeding. 

When  hay  is  more  expensive  and  when  labor  is  avail- 
able shortly  after  the  beet  harvest,  it  is  common  to  gather 
the  tops  after  they  have  cured  in  the  field  and  stack  them 
like  hay.  Whether  it  is  more  profitable  to  dry-cure  the 
tops  or  to  silo  them  is  a  difficult  question  to  answer  in 
arid  regions  where  curing  is  easy,  but  in  humid  regions 
siloing  is  unquestionably  to  be  preferred.  In  case  the 
beets  were  thrown  in  piles  before  topping,  the  tops  are 
usually  in  piles  that  can  be  gathered  easily;  but  when 
topping  is  done  directly  from  rows  or  by  a  mechanical 
topper,  it  is  usually  necessary  to  gather  the  tops  with 
a  hay  rake  before  hauling  them.  A  large  part  of  the  tops 
is  always  lost  in  handling  them  dry ;  hence  it  is  usually 
advisable  to  gather  while  they  are  still  green  or  only  partly 
dry.  Piling  green  results  in  a  smaller  loss  than  does 
curing  in  the  open  field.  Usually  there  is  considerable 
dirt  gathered  with  the  tops.  This  could  be  avoided  by 
using  care  in  gathering. 

Under  ordinary  conditions  in  a  sugar-beet  region,  live- 
stock feeding  is  an  important  industry  and  feed  is  rather 
expensive  because  land  that  might  otherwise  produce 
forage  crops  is  planted  to  beets.  It  is  important,  there- 
fore, that  as  much  cheap  feed  be  used  as  possible.  Since 
tops  are  a  good  and  also  a  cheap  live-stock  feed,  much 
more  attention  should  be  given  to  their  preservation  than 
is  usually  done  in  this  country. 

Methods  of  handling  by-products  are  shown  in  Plate 
XX. 


By-Products 


163 


Siloing  beet  tops. 

The  greatest  feed  value  can  be  obtained  from  beet  tops 
by  siloing.  This  practice  also  proves  beneficial  by  free- 
ing the  leaves  from  pests,  such  as  the  leaf  -spot  and  crown- 
rot  organisms,  and  by  removing  the  favorable  hibernating 
places  for  insects.  Siloing  has  the  serious  drawback  that 
it  requires  considerable  labor  at  a  time  when  hands  are 
most  needed.  To  make  good  silage,  the  tops  should  be 


//// 


FIG.  24.  —  Beet-top  silo  above  ground. 

put  into  the  silo  within  two  or  three  days  after  being  re- 
moved from  the  beet.  It  usually  pays  to  silo  the  tops  if 
conditions  are  favorable;  but  the  supply  and  wages  of 
local  labor  and  other  economic  considerations  make  the 
problem  one  that  each  farmer  must  solve  for  himself. 

The  usual  method  of  siloing  beet  tops  consists  in  digging 
a  trench  six  to  ten  feet  wide,  four  to  five  feet  deep,  and 
as  long  as  necessary  in  a  well-drained  soil,  as  convenient 
as  possible  to  the  feeding  yards  (Fig.  25).  Silos  are 
sometimes  made  on  top  of  the  ground,  as  in  Fig.  24,  but 
the  depth  is  governed  to  some  extent  by  the  nearness  of 


164 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


the  water-table  to  the  surface;  the  depth  of  the  pit  is 
frequently  less  than  given  above  and  the  thickness  of  tops 
made  up  by  extending  the  pile  above  ground.  Less  work 
is  required  in  covering  the  silage  if  the  trench  is  not  too 
wide.  Sufficient  width,  however,  should  be  given  to 
allow  the  wagon  carrying  the  tops  to  be  driven  freely 


M  //'// 


FIQ.  25.  —  Beet-top  silo  below  ground. 

over  them.  This  aids  in  compacting  the  tops.  In 
scraping  the  trench  out,  the  ends  are  left  sloping  enough 
to  allow  the  wagon  to  pass  easily  in  and  out.  In  esti- 
mating the  size  of  the  excavation,  usually  it  is  assumed 
that  the  yield  of  silage  will  be  about  one-half  the  weight 
of  the  roots  and  that  a  ton  of  the  green  tops  will  occupy 
thirty-eight  cubic  feet. 

In  order  that  as  small  a  proportion  as  possible  of  the 
tops  shall  spoil,  six  to  eight  inches  of  straw  are  spread 


By-Products 


165 


on  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  excavation  in  which  the 
tops  are  to  be  siloed.  To  absorb  a  part  of  the  moisture 
and  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  straw  on  the  farm,  a  six- 
inch  layer  of  tops  is  often  alternated  with  a  three-inch 
layer  of  straw  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  26,  although  the  re- 
sults are  entirely  satisfactory  when  no  straw  is  used. 


earth'//// 


a^ftSpwjys^^ 


straw- 


FIG.  26.  —  Beet-top  silo  with  alternating  layers  of  tops  and  straw. 

From  three  to  seven  pounds  of  salt  for  each  ton  of  silage 
is  sometimes  added  while  the  silo  is  being  filled.  The 
value  of  this  practice  is  questioned  by  some  feeders. 
When  all  the  tops  are  in  the  silo,  a  layer  of  straw  is  spread 
over  the  top  and  eight  to  ten  inches  of  earth  thrown  over 
this  to  exclude  the  ah*  as  much  as  possible.  In  filling,  it 
is  essential  that  each  layer  be  rather  firmly  packed  both 
by  the  wagon  delivering  the  tops  and  by  a  roller  or  by 
horses  led  over  the  tops  near  the  edges.  The  drier  the 


166  The  Sugar- Beet  in  America 

leaves  when  put  into  the  silo,  the  more  the  packing  that 
is  needed.  When  layers  of  straw  are  alternated  with 
layers  of  tops,  greater  care  will  need  to  be  used  in  pack- 
ing to  exclude  the  air  more  thoroughly. 

A  cheaper  but  more  wasteful  manner  of  siloing,  prac- 
ticed by  some,  consists  in  piling  the  tops  in  large  heaps 
without  the  excavation  and  allowing  the  surface  few 
inches  to  decay,  thus  forming  a  protective  covering  for 
the  interior  of  the  stack.  Obviously,  the  larger  the  pile 
the  smaller  the  proportion  of  tops  that  will  decay. 

After  a  period  of  about  four  to  six  weeks,  the  silage 
fermentation  has  progressed  far  enough  to  correct  the 
cathartic,  or  scouring,  effect  of  the  tops,  and  they  are 
ready  to  be  fed.  This  silage  is  handled  and  fed  in  much 
the  same  manner  as  corn  silage;  all  kinds  of  live-stock 
readily  eat  it  when  they  become  used  to  it. 

Use  of  beet  silage. 

A  large  part  of  the  beet  tops  is  fed  to  beef  cattle,  and 
it  probably  serves  best  when  used  for  this  purpose.  Beef 
fed  on  tops  command  as  high  a  price  as  any  on  the  mar- 
ket. Cattle-men  ordinarily  figure  that  for  each  acre  of 
beets  raised  there  will  be  sufficient  tops  to  feed  one  steer 
at  least  one  hundred  days,  allowing  about  twenty-seven 
to  thirty  pounds  of  dry  matter  to  the  steer  each  day. 
When  used  as  pasturage,  not  more  than  a  month  to  the 
acre  is  counted  on  to  each  steer.  Usually  some  hay,  and 
often  pulp  and  grain,  are  fed  in  addition  to  the  silage.  By 
feeding  twenty  to  thirty  pounds  of  the  beet-top  silage  a 
day,  the  hay  eaten  will  be  about  half  what  it  is  without 
the  silage. 


By-Products  167 

With  dairy  cattle  the  quantity  of  tops  fed  should  be 
much  smaller  than  with  beef,  because  the  former  should 
have  more  concentrates  and  less  bulky  feed.  Fed  in 
moderate  quantities,  equaling  about  one-third  of  the  total 
ration,  the  silage  increases  the  yield  of  milk;  but  with 
unlimited  access  to  the  tops,  cows  do  not  maintain  their 
milk  flow.  Each  acre  of  beets  should  furnish  from  one 
hundred  fifty  to  two  hundred  days'  feed  for  an  ordinary 
dairy  animal.  About  the  same  quantity  of  siloed  tops 
may  be  used  as  of  corn  silage. 

Sheep  do  well  on  beet  tops,  but  care  must  be  taken 
that  they  eat  only  moderate  quantities  at  first.  Because 
of  the  desirable  flavor  and  color  of  their  flesh,  sheep  fed 
on  beet  tops  are  in  great  demand.  Pasturing  sheep  on 
the  tops  is  perhaps  the  most  common  practice,  but  it  is 
dangerous  not  only  because  of  the  scouring  effect  of  large 
quantities  of  tops  on  the  animals  but  also  because  sheep 
tend  to  pack  the  soil,  and  thereby  to  destroy  its  tilth,  par- 
ticularly if  the  land  is  wet.  Sheep  are  usually  fattened 
on  beet  by-products  during  the  winter,  and  it  is  more  de- 
sirable that  the  tops  be  siloed  than  pastured  or  fed  dry, 
since  the  silage  is  always  warm  and  convenient  to  handle 
in  winter.  Satisfactory,  rapid,  and  economical  gains 
have  been  realized  from  feeding  three  to  four  pounds  of 
beet-top  silage  a  day  together  with  a  lessened  quantity 
of  hay  or  other  supplementary  feeds. 

If  the  land  is  not  so  wet  that  it  causes  the  soil  to  pack, 
either  sheep  or  hogs  may  be  pastured  on  the  remaining 
tops  after  the  siloing  or  stacking  has  been  done.  Con- 
siderable feed  is  left  in  the  form  of  undug  beets  and 
scattered  tops  that  these  animals  relish.  Since  pork 


168  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

from  hogs  fed  on  beet  tops  is  of  a  desirable  quality,  feed- 
ing tops  to  them  is  recommended.  Experiments  1  show 
that  hogs  pastured  on  beet  tops  and  receiving  one-third 
normal  grain  rations  did  well.  Horses  should  not  be  fed 
large  quantities  of  tops. 


SUGAR-BEET  PULP 

After  the  beet  has  been  sliced  into  shreds  and  most  of 
the  sugar  extracted,  pulp  remains  as  a  by-product.  A 
great  many  experiments  in  this  country  as  well  as  in 
Europe  have  been  conducted  to  determine  the  value  of 
this  pulp.  The  interest  in  it  seems  to  have  been  due  not 
so  much  to  its  value  as  to  the  difficulty  of  disposing  of 
such  a  great  quantity  of  material  at  the  factories.  Ap- 
proximately 85  per  cent  of  the  original  weight  of  the  roots 
is  discarded  as  fresh  pulp,  but  by  the  time  the  water  has 
been  well  drained  from  it  and  it  has  gone  through  the 
siloing  process,  only  25  to  35  per  cent  of  the  original  weight 
of  the  roots  remains.  The  tops  can  be  dried  easily  into 
a  rich  hay  in  the  more  arid  parts  of  the  country,  whereas 
it  is  rather  expensive  to  dry  pulp.  The  dried  pulp  is  less 
than  twice  as  valuable  for  feed  as  the  cured  tops.  When 
time  cannot  be  spared  to  silo  the  tops  and  when  a  suc- 
culent feed  is  desired  during  the  winter,  the  pulp  may  be 
the  more  economical  even  though  it  is  usually  necessary 
to  pay  a  small  sum  for  it.  Table  V  shows  the  relative 
value  of  tops  and  pulp. 

Only  a  small  part  of  the  pulp  is  fed  just  as  it  comes 

1  Shaw,  R.  S.,  Mich.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui  No.  223. 


By-Products  169 

from  the  mill.  Most  of  it  goes  into  huge  lumber-lined 
earth]  silos  six  to  ten  feet  deep,  where  it  ferments  into 
the  pulp  that  is  ordinarily  fed.  An  increasing  number  of 
factories  is  being  equipped  with  drying  plants  into  which 
the  pulp  goes  after  a  part  of  the  water  is  expressed  by 
pressure.  In  a  few  minutes  the  pulp  is  reduced  to  a  mois- 
ture-content of  about  10  per  cent,  after  which  it  is  sacked 
for  shipment,  or  is  mixed  with  molasses  before  being  sent 
to  market. 

By  drying  pulp,  the  loss  due  to  fermentation  is  avoided 
and  a  concentrated  feed  is  made.  About  5  to  6  per  cent 
of  the  original  weight  of  the  beets  is  recovered  in  drying. 
Dried  pulp  is  somewhat  similar  to  corn  or  to  cornmeal 
in  composition  and  in  feeding  value.  In  this  form  it  is 
worth  about  ten  times  as  much  as  the  fresh  pulp  and 
about  eight  times  as  much  as  the  siloed  pulp. 

Uses  of  beet  pulp. 

It  is  often  necessary  to  starve  stock  for  a  few  days  in 
order  to  induce  them  to  eat  siloed  pulp  for  the  first  time ; 
but  once  they  acquire  the  taste  for  it,  all  classes  of  live- 
stock eat  it  readily.  Although  siloing  gives  to  pulp  a  dis- 
agreeable odor,  it  is  a  better  feed  after  fermentation  than 
before.  The  value  of  pulp  lies  not  only  in  its  succulent 
nature,  as  with  corn  silage,  but  it  also  has  a  desirable 
hygienic  effect.  Brood  animals  and  dairy  cattle  are  es- 
pecially benefited  by  the  laxative  properties  of  the  pulp. 
It  has  a  stimulating  effect  on  the  digestion  of  all  animals 
and  enables  them  to  make  the  most  of  their  feed.  Wet 
pulp  is  almost  an  ideal  feed  in  sections  where  alfalfa  forms 
the  roughage  part  of  the  ration.  Where  grain  can  be  ob- 


170  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

tained  at  a  moderate  price,  alfalfa,  grain,  and  pulp  put 
a  fine  finish  on  stock;  but  thousands  of  animals  are  fat- 
tened without  the  grain,  especially  where  it  is  high  priced. 
By  varying  the  amount  of  pulp  in  proportion  to  other 
feeds,  it  is  possible  to  make  excellent  rations  for  fattening 
animals,  producing  growth  and  milk,  preparing  for 
maternity,  and  for  merely  wintering  the  animals  cheaply 
without  their  losing  weight.  The  combination  of  feeds 
and  the  amount  of  each  is  altered  according  to  the  pur- 
pose. Likewise,  the  value  of  the  pulp  to  the  feeder  is 
determined  by  the  object  of  the  feeding,  the  character 
and  amount  of  supplementary  feed,  the  condition  of 
the  animals  to  be  fed,  and  the  value  of  the  finished 
product. 

Being  close  to  the  great  stock  ranges,  the  western  beet- 
sugar  companies  are  able  to  make  good  use  of  pulp.  With 
rations  made  up  largely  of  the  siloed  pulp  and  alfalfa  hay, 
thousands  of  steers  are  fattened  annually  on  these  feeds. 
The  stock  fresh  from  the  ranges  are  at  first  fed  largely  on 
alfalfa  hay  with  only  a  comparatively  small  amount  of 
pulp.  This  is  increased  gradually  until  the  daily  ration 
consists  of  about  fifteen  pounds  of  alfalfa  and  one  hun- 
dred pounds  of  siloed  pulp.  When  fed  alone,  pulp  is  a 
poorly  balanced  feed  which  will  endanger  the  lives  of  the 
animals,  and  will  not  fatten  stock  that  are  in  poor  con- 
dition. Grain  and  some  roughage  must  supplement  it. 
The  best  feeders  begin  with  alfalfa  hay  and  a  small 
amount  of  pulp,  increasing  the  pulp  until  the  full  ration 
is  given,  then  toward  the  close  of  the  feeding  period  a 
small  quantity  of  grain  is  added.  Where  grain  can  be 
fed  economically,  the  amount  used  is  gradually  increased 


By-Products 


171 


and  the  pulp  decreased  until  the  grain  entirely  supplants 
the  pulp  for  a  short  period  just  before  the  steers  are  put 
on  the  market.  In  spite  of  the  economy  of  feeding  grain, 
thousands  of  steers  are  placed  on  the  market  without  it. 
The  Colorado  Station,1  in  a  one-hundred-day  period, 
found  that  if  the  steers  were  in  poor  condition  when  the 
fattening  period  commenced,  adding  about  half  of  an 
ordinary  ration  of  corn  to  the  pulp  and  alfalfa  hay  caused 


FIG.  27.  —  Pulp  being  piped  from  factory  to  silo. 


the  steers  to  gain  nearly  half  as  much  again  as  without 
the  grain.  With  the  same  type  of  animals,  the  gain  was 
about  three-fourths  greater  when  grain  and  pulp  were 
fed  than  when  only  hay  was  used.  The  animals  fed  on 
pulp  were  also  more  thrifty  than  those  not  receiving  it. 
For  two-year-old  fattening  steers,  nine  pounds  of  wet 
pulp  was  equal  to  2.8  pounds  of  alfalfa  hay  or  to  one  pound 
of  ground  corn.  In  computing  the  amount  of  pulp  neces- 
sary for  steer  fattening,  stock-men  consider  one  and  one- 
half  tons  of  pulp  a  month  to  be  sufficient  for  each  steer. 
From  four  to  seven  tons  of  wet  pulp  and  one  ton  of  alfalfa, 

1  Carlyle,  W.  L.,  and  Griffith,  C.  J.,  Colo.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  102. 


172  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

together  with  the  supplementary  feeds,  if  any  is  used, 
will  finish  one  steer  for  the  market.  About  forty-one 
pounds  of  beef  is  produced  from  a  ton  of  pulp  under 
average  conditions.  The  daily  amount  fed  is  about  6  to 
10  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  animal.  Figure  27  shows  a 
method  of  transporting  sugar-beet  pulp.  Other  methods 
are  illustrated  in  Plate  XIX. 

For  wintering  steers,  the  amount  of  pulp  fed  is  often 
greater  and  the  roughage  may  be  straw  instead  of  hay. 
Cattle  will  come  out  of  the  winter  in  fair  condition  on 
pulp  and  oat  straw ;  but  they  are  not  so  thrifty  and  do  not 
make  the  growth  they  should  without  a  little  nitrogenous 
food  such  as  alfalfa  hay  or  grain.  Dried  pulp  is  gen- 
erally considered  too  expensive  to  feed  to  steers,  although 
at  some  periods  it  has  been  found  to  be  about  equal  to  corn- 
meal  for  fattening  them  and  is  somewhat  cheaper.1  At 
Michigan  it  was  ascertained  that  dried  pulp  tended  to 
produce  growth  rather  than  fat;  hence,  it  is  recom- 
mended that  it  be  fed  during  the  early  part  of  the  feed- 
ing period  and  dropped  from  the  ration  later.  From  three 
to  five  pounds  of  the  dried  pulp  a  day  is  a  common  amount, 
although  some  feeders  allow  as  much  as  ten  to  fifteen 
pounds  to  the  animal. 

Used  in  moderate  quantities,  pulp  is  desirable  for  dairy 
cattle.  Milch  cows  need  considerable  nourishing  feed, 
but  they  will  not  eat  enough  to  bring  best  results  when 
they  receive  only  dry  feed.  The  stimulating  effect  of  a 
succulent  feed  such  as  corn  silage  is  well  recognized.  The 
dry  matter  in  wet  beet  pulp  is  equal  to  that  in  corn  silage 

1  Shaw,  R.  S.,  and  Norton,  H.  W.,  Jr.,  Mich.  Exp.  Sta.,  Buls. 
Nos.  220  and  247. 


PJ.ATE  XIX.  —  Above,  cured  pulp  being  hauled  from  the  silo  ;  center, 
pulp  silo  almost  empty ;  the  pulp  remaining  in  the  silo  till  the  end  of 
the  season,  due  to  evaporation  and  fermentation  is  much  more  concen- 
trated than  when  fresh  ;  below,  (Courtesy  National  Sugar  Manufacturing 
Co.)  pulp  silo  and  feeding  yards  joining  a  sugar  factory,  Colorado. 


By-Products  173 

for  milk  production,1  so  that  by  feeding  enough  more  of 
the  pulp  to  make  up  for  the  extra  water  it  contains  the 
same  effect  is  obtained  by  the  two  feeds. 

If  properly  fed,  no  ill  effects  on  the  milk  result,  and 
there  is  a  stimulating  action  which  causes  the  cow  to 
consume  more  dry  roughage  and  to  produce  milk  more 
economically.  With  no  other  succulent  feed  in  the 
ration,  the  benefits  of  siloed  pulp  are  very  marked.  Since 
the  cow  should  not  have  too  large  a  quantity  of  bulky 
feed,  it  is  not  advisable  to  feed  more  than  twenty  to  forty 
pounds  of  pulp  a  day,  although  fifty  to  one  hundred  pounds 
would  be  eaten  if  placed  before  the  cow  in  unlimited 
quantities.  Dried  pulp  finds  great  favor  with  dairy-men, 
especially  with  those  who  are  feeding  for  high  milk  pro- 
duction. The  stimulating  effect  is  obtained  in  the  dry 
pulp  without  the  bulk,  although,  it  is  better  to  soften 
with  a  little  water  before  feeding.2  Replacing  forty-five 
pounds  of  corn  silage  with  nine  pounds  of  dried  beet  pulp 
and  five  pounds  of  mixed  hay  increased  the  milk  yield 
11  per  cent.  Experiments  show  dried  pulp  to  have  a 
value  as  a  dairy  feed  equal  to  two-thirds  that  of  wheat 
bran,3  and  it  frequently  takes  the  place  of  bran,  oil  meal, 
and  the  like,  in  the  dairy  ration. 

There  is  some  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  value  of 
mixing  the  beet  molasses  writh  the  dried  pulp.  In  New 
Jersey  the  addition  of  the  molasses  had  little  influence 
when  compared  with  the  dried  pulp  without  the  molas- 

1  Wing,  H.  H.,  and  Anderson,  L.,  Cornell  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  183. 

2  Billings,  G.  A.,  New  Jersey  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  189. 

3  Woll,  F.  W.,  and  Humphrey,  G.  C.,  Wis.  Exp.  Sta.  Ann.  Rpt., 
1905,  pp.  108-117. 


174  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

ses,  either  of  them  being  about  equal  to  hominy  meal. 
Comparing  three  pounds  of  molasses  beet  pulp  with  two 
pounds  of  whea^  bran,  it  was  found  that  the  pulp  pro- 
duced 12  per  cent  more  milk  than  the  bran.1  In  other 
experiments  2  these  two  feeds  were  determined  to  be  about 
equal.  Molasses  pulp  is  usually  considered  to  be  more 
laxative  than  the  pulp  without  the  molasses. 

In  addition  to  cattle,  thousands  of  sheep  are  fattened 
on  siloed  beet  pulp  and  alfalfa  hay  near  the  sugar  fac- 
tories of  the  West.  Pulp  has  proved  to  be  an  excellent 
feed  both  for  fattening  and  breeding  animals.  The  meat 
is  of  excellent  quality  and  much  sought  for  in  the  larger 
markets.  As  in  the  case  of  steers,  it  is  advisable  grad- 
ually to  increase  the  pulp  ration  until  the  finishing-off 
period,  when  the  pulp  is  substituted  by  a  less  bulky  feed. 
The  addition  of  four-tenths  of  a  pound  of  grain  a  day  to 
a  full  pulp  and  alfalfa-hay  ration  was  found  to  reduce 
the  amount  of  pulp  and  hay,  respectively,  by  about  five 
and  about  two  times  the  weight  of  the  grain.  It  was  not 
considered  advisable  to  feed  more  than  four-tenths  of  a 
pound  of  grain  to  sheep  on  pulp  and  alfalfa,  and  whether 
it  should  be  fed  at  all  or  not  depends  on  the  prices  of  the 
feed.8  Colorado  experiments4  show  that  a  ton  of  wet 
pulp  has  about  the  same  feeding  value  as  200  pounds  of 
corn  for  fattening  lambs.  Dried  beet  pulp  has  been 
found  5  to  produce  larger  gains  with  growing  lambs  on 

1  Wis.  Exp.  Sta.  Ann.  Rpt.,  1905. 

2  Hills,  J.  L.,  Ver.  Exp.  Sta.  Ann.  Rpt.,  1904,  p.  484. 

» Merrill,  L.  A.,  and  Clark,  R.  W.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  90. 
4  Griffin,  H.  H.,  Colo.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  76. 
6  Shaw,  R.  S.,  Mich.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui  No.  220. 


By-Products  175 

clover  hay  and  bran  or  oats  than  does  cornmeal,  although 
for  fattening  cornmeal  was  the  better  feed.  Trials  with 
sheep  have  failed  to  show  that  the  drfed-molasses  beet 
pulp  is  any  better  for  a  feed  than  plain  dried  pulp.  One 
hundred  pounds  of  fresh  pulp  absorbs  about  six  pounds 
of  molasses;  this  will  produce  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
pounds  of  dried-molasses  beet  pulp.  The  usual  amount 
of  wet  pulp  to  feed  sheep  is  from  seven  to  ten  pounds  a 
head  each  day,  and  of  dried  pulp  about  the  same  weight 
as  the  grain  they  would  have  received.  It  is  usually  ac- 
cepted by  stock-men  that  eight  sheep  or  twelve  lambs 
should  receive  the  same  quantity  of  feed  as  one  steer. 

Although  wet  fermented  pulp  is  ordinarily  considered 
too  bulky  and  too  laxative  for  horses,  it  has  been  con- 
cluded that  when  fed  in  limited  quantities  it  is  not  harm- 
ful. Farm  work  horses  eating  as  much  as  twenty  pounds 
daily  did  well  on  this  feed  when  combined  with  oats  and 
alfalfa  hay.1  When  thus  fed,  the  pulp  displaced  about 
one-sixth  of  its  weight  of  oats.  Perhaps  more  of  the 
pulp  is  fed  to  horses  in  the  dried  form,  and  especially 
molasses-dried,  than  in  any  other  form.  In  any  form, 
pulp  is  not  extensively  used  for  horses,  except  for  young 
growing  animals  and  for  brood  mares  when  a  rather  laxa- 
tive feed  is  desired. 

During  their  growing  period,  swine  make  good  use  of 
pulp,  as  do  also  sows  without  pasture.  When  fed  in 
moderate  quantities,  young  pigs  relish  it  and  make  good 
gains,  although  grass  answers  the  same  purpose  by  act- 
ing as  a  mechanical  agent  to  stimulate  digestion.  Pulp 

1  Clark,  R.  W.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  101. 


176  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

is  so  bulky  that  only  a  small  part  of  the  ration  should 
be  supplied  in  this  form.  Pulp  and  molasses  sometimes 
take  the  place  of  part  of  the  shorts  or  of  similar 
feeds.1 

To  winter  brood  sows  cheaply,  pulp  and  a  small  quantity 
of  grain  have  been  used  with  good  results.  For  hogs, 
the  quantity  of  pulp  recommended  is  between  one  and 
two  pounds  for  each  pound  of  grain  fed  in  fattening.  If 
dried  pulp  is  used,  it  is  usually  softened  with  milk  before 
being  fed. 

WASTE  SUGAR-BEETS  AND  ROOT-TIPS 

The  feeding  of  roots  left  from  the  production  of  sugar- 
beet  seed  is  growing  in  importance.  These  beets  contain 
from  6  to  14  per  cent  of  sugar  and  frequently  yield  from 
eight  to  ten  tons  to  the  acre.  Since  their  woody  fibrous 
nature  prevents  their  being  used  for  sugar-making,  feed- 
ing seems  to  be  the  only  way  of  obtaining  a  profit  from 
them.  The  great  amount  of  fibrous  material  makes  them 
somewhat  dangerous  for  stock,  which  are  sometimes  killed 
by  accumulations  of  this  material  in  the  digestive  tract. 
If  fed  in  moderation  and  in  connection  with  other  feeds, 
it  seems  possible  to  utilize  this  rapidly  increasing  by- 
product. Formerly,  only  a  few  acres  of  beet  seed  were 
grown  in  America,  but  in  the  future  thousands  of  acres 
will  be  devoted  to  seed  production. 

A  product  that  merits  more  attention  for  feeding  pur- 
poses than  it  is  receiving  is  that  which  remains  after  the 

1  Clark,  R.  W.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  101. 


PLATE  XX.  —  Above ,  dairy  cows  fed  largely  on  sugar-beet  by-products, 
Kansas  (Courtesy  Garden  City  Sugar  and  Land  Co.) ;  center,  feed 
yards  near  factory,  Utah  ;  below,  beef  cattle  being  fattened  on  sugar- 
beet  by-products,  California.  (Courtesy  Union  Sugar  Co.) 


By-Products  111 

beets  are  washed  at  the  factory.  Quantities  of  root  tips, 
leaves,  and  stems  are  flushed  into  the  sewers  and  go  to 
waste.  If  the  water  in  the  flumes  carrying  the  beets  to 
the  factory  were  made  to  run  over  a  screen  just  below 
the  device  for  elevating  the  beets  to  the  washer,  con- 
siderable valuable  feed  might  be  saved.  Various  feeding 
practices  are  shown  in  Plates  XX  and  XXI. 


SUGAR-BEET  MOLASSES 

In  factories  not  equipped  with  the  Steffen  process  of 
removing  additional  sugar  from  the  molasses,  there  re- 
mains from  3  to  5  per  cent  of  the  original  weight  of  the 
beet  as  a  bitter  molasses.  Factories  turning  out  molas- 
ses as  a  by-product  vary  the  quantity  according  to  whether 
the  price  of  the  sugar  minus  the  cost  of  extracting  is  greater 
than  the  price  for  which  the  molasses  can  be  sold.  The 
ordinary  amount  that  is  sold  as  a  by-product  is  about 
forty  to  sixty  pounds  for  each  ton  of  beets  sliced.  The 
purity  of  the  juice,  which  in  turn  is  modified  by  climatic, 
soil,  and  other  conditions,  such  as  the  manner  of  topping, 
also  modules  the  quantity  remaining  after  the  sugar  is 
made.  Formerly,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  make  a 
satisfactory  disposition  of  the  molasses,  but  today  it  is 
highly  valued  both  as  a  stock  feed  and  for  manufactur- 
ing such  products  as  alcohol,  fusel  oil,  vinegar,  and 
certain  kinds  of  fertilizer.  Reference  to  Table  V  shows 
molasses  to  contain  about  60  per  cent  of  digestible  nutri- 
ents. A  large  part  of  this,  50  per  cent  of  the  total  weight, 
consists  of  sugar  that  cannot  be  extracted  except  by  the 
Steffen  process  because  of  the  high  percentage  of  salts, 


178  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

about  7.2  per  cent  being  present.  These  salts,  together 
with  organic  substances,  give  the  molasses  a  disagree- 
able taste  and  a  laxative  action,  which  makes  it  unsuitable 
for  human  use  and  for  animals  when  used  in  large  quan- 
tities. When  properly  combined  with  other  feeds  and 
slowly  introduced  into  the  ration,  it  furnishes  a  desirable 
nutrient  for  fattening  animals.  For  most  stock,  molas- 
ses is  first  diluted  with  water  and  then  sprinkled  on  the 
roughage  with  which  it  is  to  be  fed.  In  Europe,  peat, 
which  has  no  food  value  in  itself,  is  sometimes  used  as 
roughage.  Stock  will  eat  large  quantities  of  straw  when 
sprinkled  with  molasses  and  do  well  on  it.  When  pur- 
chased in  combination  with  other  feed,  it  is  usually  in  the 
form  of  dried-molasses  beet  pulp.  Molasses  is  a  valu- 
able material  to  feed  with  alfalfa  hay  because  its  high 
carbohydrate  content  balances  the  high  protein  of  the 
alfalfa. 

Alfalfa  leaves  and  molasses  are  about  equal  to  grain  for 
feed  and  cost  much  less.  To  begin  with,  only  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  full  amount  of  molasses  should  be  fed. 
This  may  be  increased  gradually  to  the  full  ration.  It  is 
a  violent  purgative  when  fed  in  excessive  quantities  or 
when  introduced  too  rapidly  into  the  ration;  but  if 
properly  fed,  its  tonic  action  allows  the  best  use  to  be 
made  of  a  large  quantity  of  rough  food  that  might  not 
otherwise  be  utilized.  It  should  not  be  fed  to  brood 
animals  in  quantities  large  enough  to  cause  great  activity 
of  the  bowels,  as  this  is  likely  to  cause  abortion.  For 
fattening  purposes,  it  is  worth  six  to  eight  times  its  weight 
of  wet  pulp. 

The  use  of  molasses  for  fattening  beef  cattle  is  increas- 


By-Products  179 

ing  in  the  western  states.  Many  factories  must  raise 
stock  as  a  side  line  in  order  to  make  a  satisfactory  disposal 
of  pulp  and  molasses.  Some  of  the  larger  feeders  chop 
alfalfa  hay  or  straw  and  sprinkle  molasses  over  it  with 
satisfactory  results.  About  twenty  pounds  of  molasses 
to  each  one  hundred  pounds  of  straw  is  a  common  pro- 
portion. Molasses  increases  the  appetites  of  stock,  re- 
sulting in  their  eating  more  feed  at  a  time ;  fattening  is 
thereby  hastened. 

The  Great  Western  Sugar  Company,  in  experiments  on 
a  large  scale  in  which  they  used  ordinary  range  cattle, 
found  that  for  each  one  hundred  pounds  gain  it  required 
about  7500  pounds  of  pulp,  240  pounds  of  molasses,  760 
pounds  of  alfalfa  hay,  and  90  pounds  of  grain.  It  is 
usually  aimed  to  feed  three  to  four  pounds  of  molasses  a 
day  along  with  the  other  feeds,  although  some  give  larger 
quantities.  A  ration  recommended  for  a  hundred  fifty 
day  feeding  period  with  steers  in  ordinary  condition  is 
one  ton  of  alfalfa,  400  pounds  of  molasses,  500  pounds  of 
grain,  one-half  acre  of  beet  tops,  and  one-fourth  acre  of 
oat  straw.  Steers  on  this  ration  made  a  gain  of  about 
1.7  pounds  a  head  each  day  and  were  marketed  in  the 
best  of  condition. 

Without  concentrates,  it  takes  a  little  longer  to  get 
steers  in  good  marketable  condition;  the  flesh  is  not  so 
firm,  neither  will  the  stock  stand  shipping  so  well  with- 
out a  great  shrinkage;  but  practically  the  same  total 
gain  is  obtained  from  feeding  a  ton  of  alfalfa,  five  to  seven 
tons  of  pulp,  and  four-tenths  of  an  acre  —  or  about  500 
pounds  —  of  dry  beet-top  hay.  With  less  pulp  avail- 
able, molasses  and  grains  should  make  up  the  deficiency 


180  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

according  to  the  amount  of  nutrients  lacking  in  the 
pulp. 

Dairy  cows  are  favorably  influenced  by  small  quanti- 
ties of  molasses.  Each  cow  can  use  to  advantage  from 
two  and  a  half  to  three  pounds  a  day.  When  other 
laxative  feeds  are  not  present  in  the  ration,  it  is  especially 
good  as  a  tonic  and  results  in  an  increased  yield  of  milk. 

Sheep  make  good  gains  on  molasses,  fermented  pulp, 
and  alfalfa  hay.  In  some  sections,  molasses  is  used  to 
fatten  old  ewes  and  less  valuable  sheep,  the  only  ad- 
ditional feed  being  the  hay  or  straw  with  which  it  is 
mixed.  Molasses  beet  pulp  and  dried  beet  pulp  are 
about  equal  to  corn  and  cause  the  same  gains.  It  is  not, 
however,  extensively  used  in  this  way. 

In  some  parts  of  America,  molasses  has  met  with  con- 
siderable favor  for  feeding  horses.  When  used  in  quan- 
tities not  to  exceed  two  quarts  —  5.6  pounds  —  daily,  it 
has  been  found  possib'e  to  substitute  it  for  grain  pound 
for  pound.  Because  of  its  laxative  effect,  most  horse- 
men prefer  not  to  feed  more  than  one  to  one  and  one-half 
quarts  a  day.  Horses  at  hard  work,  receiving  this  quan- 
tity of  molasses  mixed  with  twenty  pounds  of  alfalfa  or 
clover  hay,  and  receiving  six  to  seven  pounds  of  rolled 
barley  a  day,  kept  in  better  condition  than  horses  with 
a  full  grain  ration.  It  is  advisable  to  begin  feeding 
horses  with  only  one-fourth  to  one-half  quart  of  molasses 
a  day  until  they  become  used  to  it. 

Hogs  have  been  fed  successfully  as  much  as  one  pound 
of  molasses  a  day  while  on  pasture  without  causing  di- 
gestive troubles.  Feeding  in  larger  quantities  (2.4  pounds 
or  more)  for  fattening  quickly  has  sometimes  proved 


PLATE  XXI.  —  Above,  sheep  being  fed  molasses  on  straw,  Colorado 
(Courtesy  National  Sugar  Manufacturing  Co.)  ;  center,  tops  of  beets 
eaten  by  the  army-worm  in  their  rapid  spread  over  the  field ;  below, 
balloon  used  in  catching  grasshoppers. 


By-Products  181 

rather  unsatisfactory.1  Shorts,  beet  pulp,  and  beet  mo- 
lasses when  combined  produced  nearly  as  large  gains  as 
the  full  ration  of  shorts  alone.  By  feeding  one  hundred 
pounds  of  molasses,  thirty-two  pounds  of  shorts  and  one 
hundred  fifty-three  pounds  of  beet  pulp  were  saved.2 
Over-feeding  with  molasses  causes  excessive  scouring  and 
often  results  in  death  to  pigs.  Molasses  is  not  generally 
considered  to  be  a  good  pig  feed ;  if  it  is  used,  only  small 
quantities  should  be  given,  and  this  must  be  introduced 
gradually  into  the  ration. 


WASTE   LIME  AND  MINOR  BY-PRODUCTS 

Considerable  lime  is  used  to  purify  the  juice  in  the 
manufacture  of  beet-sugar.  After  the  lime  has  combined 
with  the  impurities,  it  is  of  no  more  value  to  the  manu- 
facturer. Some  factories  run  this  refuse  lime  into  the 
sewer;  others  run  the  lime  water  into  large  reservoirs 
where  the  water  is  allowed  to  evaporate,  leaving  the  lime 
as  a  residue.  Lime  to  the  extent  of  2  to  6  per  cent  of  the 
weight  of  the  beets  is  required;  hence,  the  quantity  of 
waste  product  is  large.  No  satisfactory  commercial  use 
has  been  found  for  it,  although  it  has  been  used  to  some 
extent  as  a  fertilizer.  Its  value  for  this  purpose  varies 
with  the  quantity  of  water  in  it,  the  quantity  of  valuable 
constituents  it  contains,  and  the  nature  of  the  soil  on 
which  it  is  to  be  used.  The  following  is  an  analysis  of 
samples  from  a  Michigan  factory : 

1  Clinton,  L.  A.,  Cornell  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui  No.  199.     1902. 

2  Clark,  R.  W.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  101. 


182  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

Water 44.40 

Insoluble  matter 23.37 

Iron  and  alumina  (Fe2O3,  A^Oa)       .     ..      4.05 

Lime  (CaO) 34.90 

Magnesia  (MgO) 1.16 

Carbon  dioxid  (CO2) 26.00 

Phosphoric  acid  (P2O8) 48  to    1.53 

Potash  (K2O) 07  to      .11 

Organic  matter 9.06  to  10.76 


The  product  from  different  factories  varies  consider- 
ably in  composition.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  analysis 
that  the  fertilizing  value  depends  almost  entirely  on  its 
lime-content,  the  other  valuable  plant-foods  being  present 
in  almost  negligible  quantities.  This  makes  the  material 
of  value  to  the  farmer  only  in  case  his  land  is  poor  in  lime. 
Most  of  the  beet  lands  of  the  country  are  fairly  rich  in 
lime  and  the  demand  for  this  waste  product  is  not  so  great 
as  it  would  be  in  regions  having  acid  soils.  There  is  no 
doubt,  however,  that  on  clay  or  acid  soils  greater  use 
should  be  made  of  the  waste  lime.  Many  of  the  less  fri- 
able and  unworkable  soils  would  require  much  less  work 
and  would  produce  better  crops  if  lime  were  applied.  An 
ample  supply  of  lime  makes  more  available  the  phos- 
phorus, potassium,  and  other  plant-foods  in  the  soil. 
When  possible  it  is  flooded  over  the  land  with  irrigation 
water,  thereby  saving  hauling  and  distributing. 

A  few  conditions  occur  which  make  the  use  of  the 
waste  factory  lime  unpopular.  Being  wet  and  mucky, 
it  is  very  difficult  or  impossible  to  spread  it  evenly  over 
the  ground.  In  districts  infested  with  certain  pests, 
the  use  of  the  lime,  together  with  the  other  refuse  that  is 
usually  found  with  it,  endangers  the  greater  spread  of 


By-Products  183 

these  troubles.  The  disagreeable  odor  that  accompanies 
most  sugar-factory  by-products  makes  them  nauseating  to 
handle.  Its  bulky  nature  makes  its  use  uneconomical  at 
great  distances  from  the  factory. 

In  addition  to  lime,  a  small  amount  of  potassium  and 
ammonium  fertilizer  is  made  from  by-products  of  the 
manufacturing  process  in  factories  equipped  with  the 
Steffen  process.  After  all  possible  sugar  is  extracted  from 
the  molasses,  there  remains  a  slop  containing  compara- 
tively large  quantities  of  inorganic  salts  and  organic  com- 
pounds that  may  be  utilized  for  making  fertilizer.  The 
slop  must  be  evaporated  to  dryness  to  obtain  the  fertilizer. 
This  is  profitable  only  when  potassium  brings  a  high  price. 
Under  normal  conditions  the  slop  can  best  be  used  on 
local  farms  with  the  irrigation  water.  Under  more  in- 
tensified farming,  it  may  become  profitable  to  evaporate 
and  return  it  to  the  land  from  which  it  came;  but  at 
present  it  seems  improbable  that  this  material  can  compete 
commercially  with  the  cheaper  sources  of  fertilizer. 

Besides  the  products  mentioned,  there  are  a  number  of 
others,  such  as  filter  cloth  and  rubber  belting,  that  are 
sometimes  made  of  use  for  various  purposes  by  the  local 
community. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
PESTS  ANT)  DISEASES 

WITH  the  increase  in  sugar-beet  production,  it  is  only 
natural  that  there  should  also  be  an  increase  in  the  pests 
that  attack  the  plant.  The  gradual  introduction  of  the 
enemies  of  the  crop  into  sections  is  continually  making 
the  sugar-beet  more  difficult  to  raise.  Because  the 
various  troubles  are  likely  to  appear  at  almost  any  lo- 
cality, it  is  imperative  that  growers  should  be  able  to 
recognize  them  in  order  that  they  may  be  checked  as 
completely  as  possible.  Profitable  sugar-beet  production 
has  practically  ceased  in  certain  sections  because  the 
seriousness  of  the  pests  was  not  recognized  and  control 
measures  taken  in  time.  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of 
this  book  to  give  a  complete  discussion  of  all  the  pests 
and  diseases  affecting  sugar-beets.  Those  who  wish  more 
detailed  information  should  consult  the  special  publica- 
tions dealing  with  the  various  troubles. 

. 

INSECT  PESTS 

Extent  of  pest  injury. 

There  are  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  species  of  in- 
sects known  to  feed  on  beets ;  of  these  about  forty  are  of 

184 


Pests  and  Diseases  185 

economic  importance.1  It  is  the  leaves  and  not  the  mar- 
ketable part  of  the  beet  that  usually  suffer ;  therefore, 
unless  proper  functioning  of  the  leaves  is  prevented,  the 
injury  passes  without  notice. 

Ordinarily,  injury  is  not  great  if  proper  methods  are 
taken  to  prevent  the  incoming  of  pests ;  but  if  no  atten- 
tion is  given  to  them  and  if  farm  practices  are  followed 
without  regard  to  pest  troubles,  the  damage  is  likely  to 
be  considerable.  For  example,  the  nematode  when  in- 
troduced into  a  region  is  usually  unheeded,  because  of 
which  it  gradually  infests  the  soil,  making  beet-growing 
impossible  until  suitable  rotations  are  adopted.  Insect 
difficulties  vary  greatly  from  year  to  year.  One  year 
grasshoppers  or  army-worms  may  devour  everything  in 
their  way,  but  the  next  year  they  may  be  absent  almost 
entirely. 

Whenever  there  is  a  serious  outbreak  of  any  pest  or 
disease  in  a  locality,  the  State  Agricultural  College  should 
be  called  on  for  help  and  every  agency  should  cooperate. 
The  sugar  factory  agriculturist  and  the  county  agricul- 
tural agent  will  be  able  to  give  assistance  with  ordinary 
troubles.  When  a  new  pest  or  disease  appears,  experts 
from  the  State  Experiment  Station  or  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  should  be  summoned. 

Preventive  measures  for  controlling  pests. 

A  few  general  precautions  known  and  utilized  by  all 
beet  farmers  would  prevent  a  great  part  of  the  loss  oc- 
casioned by  insects.  Weeds,  especially  those  belonging 
to  the  same  family  as  the  sugar-beet,  such  as  the  dock, 

1  Forbes,  S.  A.,  and  Hart,  C.  A.,  III.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  60. 


186  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

lambsquarter,  and  cocklebur,  are  breeding  plants  of  many 
of  the  most  serious  pests.  Clean  culture  that  would 
eliminate  these  weeds  greatly  lessens  the  injury  due  to 
insects.  Rotation  of  crops  is  practiced  by  many  of  the 
beet-farmers,  but  a  few  maintain  the  one-crop  system  until 
the  enemies  of  the  beet  become  so  numerous  that  the  crop 
no  longer  can  be  grown.  Much  loss  is  occasioned  by 
planting  beets  after  grass  or  similar  crops  that  harbor 
some  of  the  worst  beet  enemies,  such  as  the  cutworms  and 
wireworms.  Fields  are  not  ordinarily  kept  as  clean  of 
insect-harboring  rubbish  over  winter  as  might  be  wished. 
In  sections  where  cutworms  give  difficulty  it  should  be 
known  that  plowing  either  in  the  fall  or  in  the  spring 
lessens  injury  from  this  insect.  When  attacks  of  insects 
become  acute,  sprays  and  insecticides  save  much  injury. 

Two  general  classes  of  insecticides  are  available :  (1) 
contact  solutions  for  insects  such  as  plant-lice  and  leaf- 
hoppers,  which  obtain  their  food  by  piercing  the  plant 
and  by  sucking  its  juice ;  and  (2)  poisons  applied  in  solu- 
tion to  the  leaves  of  the  plant  to  kill  such  insects  as  cater- 
pillars, beetles,  and  grasshoppers,  which  feed  on  the  out- 
side of  the  leaves.  The  most  effective  contact  spray  is 
made  of  a  solution  of  tobacco.  For  biting  or  chewing 
insects,  sprays  containing  a  poison  such  as  the  arsenicals 
are  employed,  the  insects  being  killed  by  eating  a  part 
of  the  plant  covered  by  some  of  the  poison.  The  latter 
type  of  spray  should  contain  a  very  active,  poison  which 
will  not  easily  run  off  the  leaves  of  the  plant  and  be 
wasted,  as  frequently  happens  when  not  properly  applied ; 
hence  arsenate  of  lead  is  one  of  the  best  sprays. 

Insect  troubles  vary  from  section  to  section;   some  of 


Pests  and  Diseases  187 

the  most  serious  in  one  locality  are  not  known  in  others. 
Certain  insects,  though  present  in  a  locality,  may  do  very 
little  damage  even  when  serious  elsewhere.  Such  insects 
as  the  leaf-hopper  are  greatly  affected  by  geography. 
In  some  places  they  have  rendered  successful  beet-culture 
practically  impossible,  though  in  other  sections  the  injury 
is  but  slight.  Treatments  must,  therefore,  be  applied 
locally.  No  general  description  will  suit  all  conditions. 

Blister-beetles  (MeMdae).     (Plate  XXI.) 

These  insects  sometimes  descend  in  swarms  on  field 
and  garden  crops,  destroying  the  foliage  and  ruining  the 
crops.  No  less  than  a  dozen  species  of  blister-beetles 
work  on  crops.  The  insect  is  a  long,  narrow  beetle  with 
a  distinct  head  and  "neck."  In  color  it  is  black,  gray,  or 
mottled,  with  a  black  or  yellow  stripe  running  the  length 
of  the  wings  on  most  species.  The  grubs,  or  larvae,  of 
the  blister-beetle  feed  on  grasshopper  eggs,  and  when  the 
grasshoppers  are  more  injurious  than  the  beetles,  it  may 
pay  not  to  disturb  the  beetles.  The  beetles  may  be  kept 
from  the  leaves  by  applying  bordeaux  mixture.  When 
this  spray  is  made  up  with  paris  green  as  a  constituent, 
it  may  be  beneficial.  When  the  attack  is  sudden,  the 
usual  method  of  control  is  to  drive  the  insects  from  the 
field  by  a  number  of  men  swinging  branches  over  the 
crop.  The  beetles  move  ahead  of  such  a  disturbance  and 
do  not  return  quickly  after  once  having  been  expelled. 

Army-worms. 

The  beet  army-worm  (Caradrina  [Laphygma]  exigua 
Hbn.)  occurs  in  disastrous  abundance  on  beets  at  certain 


188  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

periods.  -Outbreaks  of  this  pest  in  the  beet  fields  of  the 
western  states  have  at  times  nearly  ruined  the  crop.  With 
the  exhaustion  of  its  usual  food  in  years  when  it  is  worst,  it 
migrates  from  field  to  field  devouring  everything  in  its 
course  as  shown  in  Plate  XXI.  The  larvae  which  do  the 
injury  are  naked,  dull-striped  worms  resembling  cutworms 
and  closely  related  to  them.  Except  when  moving  in 
armies,  the  worm  is  not  noticed,  because  it  usually  remains 
concealed  in  the  daytime,  feeding  mainly  at  night.  When 
full  grown,  the  worm  is  about  one  and  one-half  inches 
long,  of  a  dark  color  except  for  a  yellowish  stripe  down  the 
back  and  one  down  each  side.  The  second  brood  makes 
its  appearance  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer;  as  a 
result,  late  plantings  suffer  most.  Its  normal  food  plants 
are  certain  weeds;  hence  clean  culture  will  prevent  a 
number  of  the  pests  from  developing.  Poisoning  with 
paris  green  or  arsenate  of  lead  offers  much  relief  when 
there  are  a  great  number  of  the  insects.  The  poison  should 
be  applied  as  soon  as  injury  is  noticed. 

The  common  army^worm  (Leucania  unipuncta  Haw). 

This  species  is  similar  to  the  above  except  that  it  has 
three  yellow  stripes  instead  of  one  down  its  back  and  it 
winters  as  a  half-grown  larva  in  the  ground,  emerging  in 
the  spring  as  a  dull  brownish  moth.  It  more  often  at- 
tacks cereals  and  grasses,  but  also  eats  sugar-beets.  This 
worm  does  its  injury  in  early  summer,  whereas  the  beet 
army-worm  is  most  troublesome  in  late  summer.  This 
insect  troubles  more  crops  than  the  beet  army-worm  and 
is  more  widely  distributed.  Ordinarily,  it  is  held  in  check 
by  its  natural  enemies,  but  when  it  becomes  excessively 


Pests  and  Diseases  189 

abundant,  control  methods  are  necessary.  One  method 
of  control  is  by  plowing  three  or  four  furrows  with  the 
vertical  edge  facing  the  direction  from  which  the  army  is 
approaching  and  dragging  a  log  down  these  furrows  to 
make  a  loose  dust  mulch.  If  the  dust  is  warm,  many  of 
the  insects  perish  by  suffocation  when  they  fall  into  this 
dust,  but  it  is  better  to  drag  the  pole  down  the  furrow 
often  during  the  invasion  in  order  to  kill  as  many  as  pos- 
sible. If  the  attack  is  severe,  it  is  often  a  good  policy  to 
spray  the  furrows  with  kerosene  emulsion  in  case  there  is 
not  sufficient  time  to  do  the  dragging.  The  best  method 
of  control  consists  in  applying  a  heavy  dose  of  lead  ar- 
senate  to  the  crop  around  the  edge  of  the  field.  Poisoned 
bran  mash  is  often  effective  in  preventing  a  severe  attack. 
By  fall-plowing  fields  in  which  worms  were  numerous  in 
late  summer,  many  of  the  hibernating  larvae  are  destroyed. 

The  fall  army-worm  (Laphygma  frugiperda  S.  and  A.). 

This  species  is  rather  similar  to  the  above  insect,  but 
its  destructive  period  is  usually  later  in  the  summer.  In 
appearance  it  is  very  similar  to  the  beet  army-worm  and 
is  distinguished  from  it  by  the  number  of  dots  on  its 
segments.  It  does  not  develop  the  army  instinct  so  readily 
as  the  common  army-worm  and  is  not  ordinarily  so  de- 
structive. It  feeds  on  a  wide  variety  of  crops.  Arsenical 
sprays  are  frequently  successful  in  controlling  this  pest. 
Often  on  large  fields,  such  as  alfalfa  stubble  before  the 
beet  field  is  reached,  many  of  the  worms  are  crushed  by 
running  a  heavy  roller  over  the  field.  Plowing  and 
disking,  together  with  cultivation,  kill  many  of  the  over- 
wintering forms. 


190  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

Sugar-beet  webworm  (Loxostege  sp.). 

These  insects  were  introduced  into  this  country  before 
1869,  when  they  were  observed  in  Utah,  having  probably 
come  to  the  Pacific  coast  from  the  Orient.  It  is  an  in- 
habitant of  Western  and  Central  Europe  and  Northern 
Asia.  Its  wild  food  plant  is  pigweed  (Amaranthus)  and 
injury  is  greater  to  beets  when  this  weed  is  allowed  to 
grow  abundantly. 

The  worms  spin  webs  over  the  leaves  of  the  beet  and 
eat  out  the  portions  between  the  veins.  The  larva  is  an 
inch  long  when  full  grown,  brownish  in  color,  with  a 
narrow  dark  stripe  edged  with  white  down  the  middle  of 
the  back,  and  a  light  stripe  along  each  side.  Small  dots 
cover  the  surface  of  its  body. 

The  worms  burrow  into  the  ground  in  the  fall  and  spend 
the  winter  in  white  silken  cocoons  which  they  spin  around 
themselves.  In  the  spring  the  moth  comes  out  and  lays 
eggs  on  the  leaves  of  pigweed  and  alfalfa.  A  second  gen- 
eration comes  in  July  in  some  regions  and  a  third  in  August. 
The  last  brood  is  likely  to  do  most  injury  to  sugar-beets. 

Control  measures  consist  of  poisoning  and  late  fall 
plowing,  which  breaks  up  their  winter  cells  in  the  soil. 
Arsenate  of  lead  is  sprayed  on  the  beet  leaves.  Since  the 
worms  destroy  the  plants  rapidly,  the  poison  must  be  put 
on  as  soon  as  the  injury  is  observed. 

Cutworms  (Noctuidae). 

Every  gardener  is  familiar  with  the  work  of  this  group 
of  insects.  The  several  species  going  under  the  name 
of  cutworms  are  the  larvae  of  night-flying  moths.  The 
worms  are  smooth  and  of  a  mottled  brown  color,  the 


Pests  and  Diseases  191 

species  having  a  slightly  different  appearance.  They 
work  most  vigorously  in  spring  about  the  time  the  garden 
is  coming  up.  They  attack  practically  all  crops,  doing 
most  damage  by  cutting  off  the  young  plants  just  as  they 
are  coming  through  the  ground.  When  they  are  present 
in  large  numbers  and  take  on  the  army  habit,  almost 
everything  in  their  way  is  destroyed.  They  feed  at  night 
and  hide  during  the  day. 

The  moths  lay  eggs  in  July  and  August  in  fields  that 
have  grown  up  to  weeds.  The  eggs  hatch  early  in  the  fall 
and  the  young  worms  feed  a  few  weeks  before  hibernat- 
ing in  the  soil.  In  the  spring  they  come  out  with  a  full- 
grown  appetite  ready  to  eat  almost  anything.  If  poisoned 
bran,  clover,  or  alfalfa  is  spread  over  the  field  just  before 
the  young  beets  come  up,  the  worms  will  devour  sufficient 
of  the  bait  to  be  killed  before  injury  is  done  to  the  crop. 
Arsenate  of  lead  is  used  for  poison.  In  large  fields  thor- 
ough cultivation  in  the  late  summer  and  keeping  the 
land  free  from  weeds,  together  with  deep  fall  plowing  and 
early  spring  cultivation,  help  to  control  the  pest. 

White  grubs  (Lachnosterna  spp.). 

The  larvae  of  several  species  of  June  bugs  or  May  beetles 
pass  under  the  name  of  white  grubs.  As  high  as  15  per 
cent  of  the  fields  of  beets  in  some  districts  has  been  re- 
ported destroyed  by  this  pest,  although  it  is  not  usually 
considered  to  be  serious.  Its  action  is  worse  in  crops 
following  sod,  since  grass  land  is  its  natural  breeding  place. 
Its  life  history  is  similar  to  that  of  the  wireworms  dis- 
cussed below,  about  two  years  being  required  for  the 
grub  to  complete  its  cycle. 


192  The  Sugar -Beet  in  America, 

The  presence  of  this  pest  is  usually  indicated  by  the 
dying  of  plants  throughout  the  field.  Examination  of 
the  soil  near  the  plants  shows  the  soft-bodied  white  worm 
curled  up.  It  is  from  one  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  quarter 
in  length,  and  has  a  brown  head  and  an  enlarged  abdomen. 

Nothing  added  to  the  soil  is  practical  in  killing  the 
grub.  Fall  plowing,  proper  rotation  of  crops,  and  avoid- 
ing the  use  of  infected  manure  are  all  helpful  in  control- 
ling the  pest.  Chickens  and  hogs  are  very  fond  of  the 
grub  and  will  help  to  eradicate  it.  Care  in  handling 
manure  in  which  it  develops  may  also  help. 

Wireworms  (Elateridae). 

The  larvae  of  several  species  of  "click  beetles"  or 
"snapping  beetles"  are  known  as  wireworms  on  account 
of  their  tough  and  wiry  appearance.  These  slender, 
cylindrical  worms  vary  from  one-half  inch  to  one  inch 
in  length.  They  vary  from  a  shiny  yellow  to  a  shiny  yel- 
lowish brown  color,  with  their  segments  showing  plainly. 
They  move  about  by  means  of  three  pairs  of  dark  legs 
close  to  the  front  of  the  body. 

"The  life  history  of  the  injurious  subterranean  species 
is  in  some  respects  similar  to  that  of  the  white  grubs,  the 
beetles  being  among  the  earliest  spring  arrivals,  occur- 
ring in  April  and  May,  and  flying  rapidly  in  the  heat  of 
the  day.  The  eggs  are  generally  deposited  in  moist  places 
grown  up  with  grassy  vegetation,  weeds,  or  corn,  and  the 
larvae  upon  hatching  feed,  like  the  white  grubs,  upon  the 
roots,  developing  slowly  and  requiring  about  the  same 
period  for  the  completion  of  the  life  cycle  —  about  two  or 
three  years.  Like  the  white  grubs,  the  wireworms  trans- 


Pests  and  Diseases  193 

form  to  pupae  in  autumn  and  the  change  to  the  beetle 
form  takes  place  before  winter,  the  beetles  usually  remain- 
ing in  a  quiescent  state  until  their  emergence  the  following 
spring."  l 

Wireworms  do  not  affect  sugar-beets  nearly  so  much 
as  they  do  some  other  crops.  They  are  always  worse 
after  sod,  corn,  beans,  or  potatoes.  When  once  they  get 
into  the  land,  they  are  difficult  to  eradicate  by  ordinary 
treatments.  Nothing  put  on  the  land  will  kill  them  with- 
out also  injuring  the  soil.  One  of  the  best  ways  is  to  starve 
them  out  by  summer  fallowing  or  by  growing  crops  on 
which  they  do  not  feed.  The  elimination  of  trash  from 
the  field  also  helps. 

Flea-beetles  and  leaf -beetles  (Chrysomelidae). 

Several  small  leaf-feeding  beetles,  known  as  flea-beetles 
and  leaf-beetles,  do  considerable  damage  to  sugar-beets. 
The  most  severe  injury  is  to  young  beets  when  they  have 
from  two  to  eight  leaves.  Some  of  these  insects  cause  in- 
jury both  in  the  adult  and  larval  stage.  The  beetles 
skeletonize  the  leaf  by  eating  out  the  pulp  between  the 
veins.  These  insects  are  sometimes  poisoned  by  the  use 
of  paris  green,  london  purple,  and  paragrene  applied  dry 
mixed  with  flour  and  dusted  on  to  the  leaves.  Arsenate  of 
lead  is  an  effective  spray.  Clean  culture  is  also  helpful. 

Grasshoppers. 

Grasshoppers  are  among  the  most  common  and  the  best 
known  of  crop  pests.  They  eat  almost  all  kinds  of  plants 

1  Chittenden,  F.  H.,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Ent.,  Bui.  No. 
43. 


194  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

and  attack  sugar-beets  only  incidentally.  Grasshopper 
injury  varies  greatly  from  year  to  year,  usually  increasing 
gradually  up  to  a  climax  year  and  then  dropping  off  sud- 
denly to  begin  the  gradual  ascension  again.  At  least  a 
dozen  species  are  known  to  attack  sugar-beets. 

Grasshoppers  are  commonly  kept  within  normal  num- 
bers by  natural  enemies,  among  which  are  birds,  fungous 
diseases,  and  other  insects.  Mechanical  means  of  coping 
with  them,  such  as  that  shown  in  Plate  XXI,  are  also  used. 
Plowing  under  the  eggs  before  they  have  had  time  to 
hatch  is  probably  the  most  effective  means  of  controlling 
them  when  the  breeding  grounds  can  be  handled  in  this 
way.  Several  types  of  catchers  are  also  used  with  success. 
Arsenic-bran  mash  is  the  most  economical  and  effective 
poison. 

Beet-root  aphis  (Pemphigus  betae  Doane). 

Within  the  last  few  years  the  beet-root  aphis  has  spread 
rapidly  over  the  beet-growing  sections  of  the  United 
States.  Attention  was  first  called  to  it  in  1896.  It  is 
similar  in  appearance  to  its  relative,  the  woolly  aphis  of 
the  apple.  The  insect  lives  on  the  small  roots  of  the  beet, 
sucking  juice  from  it  and  thereby  dwarfing  the  plant.  It 
protects  itself  by  means  of  its  woolly  covering  and  is 
consequently  not  injured  by  irrigation  water.  At  inter- 
vals a  generation  of  winged  individuals  appears;  these 
fly  to  other  fields,  where  they  settle  down  and  begin  a 
new  colony.  In  the  fall,  winged  females  fly  to  cotton- 
woods  and  lay  eggs  on  the  trunks.  These  hatch  in  the 
spring  and  migrate  to  leaves,  where  they  pass  one  or  more 
generations  before  going  to  the  beet  fields.  In  Colorado, 


Pests  and  Diseases  195 

another  species  (Tychea  brevicornis  Hart.)  has  done  con- 
siderable damage.  This  species  also  works  on  corn  roots. 
No  direct  method  of  control  is  known  for  either  of  these 
insects.  Sprays  are  impractical  since  the  insects  work 
under  the  ground.  Prevention,  the  only  known  method 
of  coping  with  the  pest,  can  be  practiced,  however,  in  crop 
rotation  and  clean  cultivation.  Thorough  tillage  early 
in  the  spring  is  thought  to  help  in  controlling  aphids. 

Sugar-beet  nematode  (Heterodera  schachtii  Schmidt). 

One  of  the  pests  that  has  done  most  damage  to  sugar- 
beets  during  the  last  few  years  is  the  nematode.  This 
is  not  a  true  insect,  but  is  an  exceedingly  fine,  threadlike, 
colorless  worm,  so  small  that  it  is  difficult  to  see  with  the 
naked  eye.  When  these  worms  hatch  from  the  egg,  they 
enter  the  nearest  rootlet  and  feed  on  the  plant  juices. 
This  results  in  the  formation  of  a  dense  mass  of  rootlets 
which  cling  to  the  beet  when  it  is  pulled  up  (Plate  XXII). 
This  has  resulted  in  calling  the  trouble  "bearded  roots," 
"hairy  roots,"  and  other  similar  names. 

The  first  evidence  of  the  pest  is  a  change  in  the  color 
of  the  foliage,  which  takes  on  a  lighter  tint  when  the  beet 
is  injured.  The  outer  leaves  gradually  wilt  and  finally 
die.  The  inner  ones  are  small  and  do  not  thrive.  Often 
the  plant  dies  and  the  infected  land  is  left  bare.  Usually 
this  condition  appears  as  a  spot  in  the  field  which  gradu- 
ally enlarges.  Since  the  pest  is  readily  carried  about  in 
the  soil,  when  it  once  becomes  established  in  a  district, 
it  is  likely  to  extend  to  all  the  fields  unless  its  spread  is 
checked. 

Rotation  of  crops  seems  to  be  the  best  method  of 


196  The  Sugar -Beet  in  America 

combating  the  difficulty.  Many  farmers,  who  have  for 
several  years  raised  sugar-beets  on  the  same  land,  are 
being  forced  by  the  nematode  to  practice  rotations. 
Shaw l  has  proposed  dividing  the  sugar-beet  states  of 
the  country  into  the  following  four  groups  and  has  given 
crops  to  be  included  in  rotations  in  each  group : 

Group  (1)  California  and  Arizona. 

Group  (2)  Oregon  and  Washington. 

Group  (3)  Utah,  Montana,  Nevada,  Colorado,  Kansas,  and 

South  Dakota. 
Group  (4)  Nebraska,   Wisconsin,   Indiana,   Michigan,   Ohio, 

New  York,  and  West  Virginia. 

Crops  for  the  groups  : 

Group  (1)  Cowpeas,  soybeans,  sweet  clover,  rye,  the  millets, 
tomatoes,  asparagus,  lettuce,  cantaloupes,  straw- 
berries, barley,2  corn,2  Lima  beans,2  and  wheat.2 

Group  (2)  Cowpeas,  soybeans,  sweet  clover,  rye,  the  millets, 
truck  crops  (such  as  lettuce  and  asparagus  — 
but  not  celery),  barley,2  and  wheat.2 

Group  (3)  In  addition  to  the  crops  mentioned  in  Group  (2), 
cantaloupes,  cucumbers,  and  potatoes.2 

Group  (4)  Clover,  cowpeas,  sweet  clover,  soybeans,  rye,  the 
millets,  tobacco,  flax,  peppermint,  cucumbers, 
strawberries,  melons,  lettuce,  asparagus,  some 
other  truck  crops,  the  grasses  with  the  exception 
of  tall  oat-grass,  barley,2  corn,2  Lima  beans, 
potatoes,  and  wheat.2 

When  only  small  areas  are  infested,  the  pest  may  be 
prevented  from  spreading  by  pulling  and  destroying  with 
quicklime  beets  for  several  feet  around  the  infested  area. 
When  there  might  be  a  possibility  of  carrying  the  pest 

1  Shaw,  H.  B.,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui  No.  772. 

2  Occasionally  slightly  infested  with  beet  nematode,  but  may 
be  used  in  a  rotation  series. 


PLATE  XXII.  —  Above,  beets  injured  with  nematode  in  comparison  with 
a  normal  beet  of  the  same  age  ;  below,  spot  in  beet  field  affected  by  nema- 
tode. 


Pests  and  Diseases  197 

on  seed,  heating  that  seed  to  a  dry  temperature  of  145°  F. 
will  kill  any  nematode  without  injuring  the  seed. 

The  beet  leaf  hopper  (Eutettix  tenella  Baker). 

This  is  probably  the  most  serious  pest  of  the  western 
sugar-beet.  Plate  XXIII.  It  causes  injury  through  the 
disease  curly-leaf,  which  it  transmits.  This  disease,  to- 
gether with  all  other  similar  leaf  troubles,  has  gone  under 
the  general  name  of  "curly  top."  For  many  years  the 
cause  of  this  important  disease  was  not  known,  but  the 
discovery  that  it  is  due  to  punctures  made  in  the  leaf  by 
the  beet  leafhopper  makes  clear  the  source  of  the  difficulty. 

"Attention  1  was  first  called  to  the  trouble  in  1899  and 
1900,  when  it  appeared  throughout  the  entire  western 
region  from  California  to  Nebraska.  Another  serious 
outbreak  occurred  in  1905.  Over  the  large  part  of  the 
area  it  has  only  appeared  two  or  three  times  in  twenty 
years.  In  smaller  areas  it  has  usually  appeared  in  three- 
year  attacks,  cumulative  in  nature,  after  which  it  has 
almost  totally  disappeared  for  a  time.  In  still  other 
areas  it  has  appeared  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  and  in 
these  areas  beet-raising  has  not  been  successful. 

"This  insect  is  single-brooded,  hibernates  as  an  adult, 
flies  to  the  beet  field  in  late  spring,  and  lays  eggs  in  beet 
stems  —  a  few  at  a  time  until  mid-summer.  The  larvae 
mature  in  summer  and  the  adults  disappear  in  early  fall. 
It  is  found  on  shadscale,  greasewood,  Russian  thistle, 
and  fine-leaved  annual  salt  bushes.  Swarms  of  these 
insects  appear  suddenly  in  beet  fields  previously  unin- 
fested.  Much  evidence  points  to  the  conclusion  that  these 
1  Ball,  E.  D.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  155  (1917). 


198  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

swarms  fly  from  their  breeding  grounds  on  wild  plants  for 
long  distances  over  mountain  chains  and  other  barriers. 
Sometimes  there  will  be  only  one  flight  into  a  partic- 
ular region;  if  so,  beets  coming  up  later  will  not  be 
infested. 

"Leaf hoppers  taken  from  wild  plants  do  not  transmit 
the  disease  until  they  feed  on  diseased  beets.  Three  hours 
on  a  beet  rendered  them  pathogenic,  but  they  could  not 
transmit  until  after  an  incubation  period  of  one  or  two 
days.  It  is  probable  that  some  wild  plant  carries  the 
disease  and  leafhoppers  coming  from  this  plant  are  able 
to  transmit  it  to  the  beets. 

"A  large  number  of  leafhoppers,  early  attack,  hot 
weather,  and  clean  cultivation  are  favorable  to  the  curly- 
leaf  development.  The  converse  of  these  factors,  together 
with  frequent  cultivation,  early  irrigation,  and  shade  or 
weeds,  are  unfavorable.  Seed  growing  is  doubly  hazard- 
ous in  curly-leaf  areas. 

"Loss  from  curly-leaf  may  be  largely  prevented  by 
avoiding  dangerous  areas,  by  planting  small  acreages 
in  a  'blight  cycle/  by  controlling  the  time  of  planting, 
by  not  thinning  just  as  the  leafhoppers  appear,  and  by 
knowledge  of  conditions  on  breeding  grounds.  Para- 
sites doubtless  assist  somewhat  in  controlling  the  leaf- 
hopper,  but  to  be  at  all  effective  should  be  introduced 
into  the  permanent  breeding  grounds." 

DISEASE   INJURY 

The  losses  due  to  beet  diseases  have  not  been  great  in 
America,  probably  because  beets  have  been  grown  here 


Pests  and  Diseases  199 

only  a  few  years  and  the  diseases  have  required  time  for 
their  spread.  New  beet  areas  have  each  year  been 
opened  up  and  these  have  been  free  from  disease.  The 
American  beet-raiser  has  come  to  regard  the  crop  as  being 
free  from  disease  and  requiring  no  attention  in  this  mat- 
ter. The  time  of  complete  freedom  from  disease,  however, 
has  passed.  Already  the  fields  in  the  older  districts  are 
infested ;  the  fight  must  be  taken  up  in  earnest.  We  may 
feel  thankful  for  past  immunity,  but  now  precautions  must 
be  taken  to  keep  in  check  the  diseases  that  menace  the 
industry.  Many  fungous  and  bacterial  organisms  live  on 
the  sugar-beet  plant,  but  only  a  few  are  of  great  economic 
importance.  There  are  also  a  number  of  troubles  that 
seem  to  be  physiological.  Forms  of  rot  on  tubers  in  stor- 
age are  shown  in  Plate  XXIII. 

Leaf -spot  (Cercospora  beticola  Sacc.). 

This  fungous  disease  is  one  of  the  best  known  and 
widely  distributed  of  the  sugar-beet.  It  is  found  in  all 
American  beet-growing  districts.  The  amount  of  injury 
depends  on  the  number  of  the  fungous  plants  present 
and  the  period  in  the  beet's  life  when  the  attack  begins. 
Late  plantings  are  as  a  rule  less  affected  by  the  disease 
than  early.  It  is  more  injurious  to  sugar-beets  than  to 
the  red  garden  variety. 

It  begins  as  tiny  white  spots  scattered  over  the  leaf, 
which  later  develop  into  small  brown  spots  with  a  red- 
dish purple  margin.  There  may  be  from  ten  spots  to 
several  hundred  on  each  leaf.  As  the  spots  become  older 
they  turn  ashen  gray  at  the  center  and  gradually  increase 
in  size  until  the  entire  leaf  may  be  covered,  when  it  be- 


200  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

comes  black  and  crisp.  The  outer,  or  older,  leaves  are 
the  ones  first  affected. 

Townsend,1  in  summarizing  methods  of  control,  says: 

"  (1)  Leaf-spot  may  be  controlled  on  a  commercial  scale 
and  in  an  expensive  manner  by  a  carefully  planned  and 
thoroughly  executed  system  of  crop  rotations  or  by  deep 
fall  plowing.  The  best  results  are  obtained  by  combin- 
ing these  two  methods. 

"(2)  A  proper  and  uniform  supply  of  soil  moisture, 
spraying,  and  proper  disposition  of  beet  tops  and  stable 
manure  are  important  aids  in  the  control  of  the  leaf -spot. 

"(3)  The  principal  agencies  in  the  distribution  of  the 
leaf -spot  fungus  are  wind,  water,  insects,  and  man  and 
other  animals. 

"(4)  Leaf-spot  tends  to  reduce  either  the  tonnage  or 
the  sugar  content  of  the  beet,  or  both,  depending  on  the 
time,  duration,  and  severity  of  the  attack. 

"(5)  Leaf -spot  seriously  injures  the  feeding  value  of 
beet  tops." 

Bordeaux  mixture  is  used  as  a  spray.  The  fungi  are 
killed  when  the  beet  tops  are  siloed. 

Heart-rot  (Phoma  betae  Frank). 

This  disease,  which  is  one  of  the  most  serious  of  the 
sugar-beet  in  sections  of  Germany,  Austria,  and  France, 
has  recently  been  introduced  into  the  United  States  where 
it  will  probably  become  rather  serious  in  the  next  few 
years.  It  has  already  gained  a  strong  foothold  in  several 
beet-growing  sections. 

1  Townsend,  C.  O.,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers1  Bui.  No.  618 
(1914). 


PLATE  XXIII.  —  Above,  beet  affected  with  curly-leaf  (Photo  by  E.  D. 
Ball)  ;   below,  types  of  rot  attacking  beets  during  storage. 


Pests  and  Diseases  201 

Duggar  l  describes  it  as  follows :  "  It  begins  to  mani- 
fest itself  as  a  rule  in  August  by  blackening  and  drying 
of  the  younger  heart  leaves,  and  later  older  leaves  also 
succumb,  so  that  before  the  period  of  harvesting  all  the 
leaves  may  be  dead  and  merely  the  beet  stub  remain. 
In  cases  where  the  beets  are  grown  for  seed,  the  fungus 
may  also  be  found  upon  the  seed  stalks  and  cases.  It  is 
thought  that  this  is  one  means  by  which  the  fungus  may 
pass  over  from  one  year  to  the  next.  From  affected  leaves, 
particularly  along  the  course  of  the  fibrovascular  bundles, 
the  browning  and  general  discoloration  of  the  tissues  extend 
into  the  tissues  of  the  root,  and  there  rot  sets  in.  If  the 
disease  begins  early  in  the  season  great  injury  may  be  done. 

"Spraying  experiments  have  not  yet  given  complete 
satisfaction.  Care  should  be  taken  to  destroy  such  re- 
mains of  the  previous  crop  as  is  practical,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  seed  with  Bordeaux  mixture  is  desirable  where 
disease  abounds." 

One  company  has  adopted  the  practice  of  treating  the 
seed  where  more  than  25  per  cent  shows  infection.  The 
entire  question  of  treating  seed  for  this  disease  is  at  pres- 
ent somewhat  unsettled. 

Scab  (Oospora  scabies  Thaxt.). 

In  some  sections  sugar-beets  are  affected  by  a  scab 
similar  in  appearance  to  that  on  the  potato  and  caused  by 
the  same  organism.  It  usually  covers  the  beet  more  com- 
pletely than  it  does  the  potato.  The  disease  begins  as 
small  irregularities  on  the  surface  of  the  beet  in  which  a 
corky,  or  spongy,  appearance  is  seen.  These  small  patches 

i  Duggar,  B.  M.,  "Fungous  Diseases  of  Plants."     (1909),  p.  3. 


202  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

spread  and  unite  till  a  great  part  of  the  surface  of  the  beet 
may  be  covered. 

On  potatoes  the  disease  may  be  controlled  by  treating 
the  tubers,  but  this  treatment  is  not  applicable  to  beets. 
Beets  should  not  be  planted  on  land  known  to  be  infected 
with  scab,  and  particular  care  should  be  taken  not  to 
follow  scabby  potatoes  with  beets. 

Soft-rot  (Bacterium  teutlium  Met.). 

This  rot  has  done  considerable  damage  in  Nebraska  and 
in  a  number  of  other  states  where  beets  are  grown.  "  It 1 
consists  of  a  rotting  away  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  root, 
the  crown  and  leaves  remaining  normal  except  in  the  most 
severe  cases,  when  the  outer  leaves  may  fall.  The  rotted 
portion  is  honeycombed  with  cavities  which  are  filled  with 
viscous,  colorless,  sour-smelling  fluid  which  exudes  on 
pressure.  The  decayed  tissue  is  usually  yellowish  gray. 
The  rot  seldom  appears  above  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Young  beets  are  not  susceptible.  The  disease  is  favored 
by  damp  surroundings,  as  poorly  drained  soil.  In  some 
cases,  large  damage  is  known  to  result,  sometimes  fully 
90  per  cent  of  the  crop  being  affected.  It  is  inadvisable, 
if  the  disease  is  noted,  to  grow  beets  in  wet  soil." 

The  moisture  condition  of  the  soil  seems  to  have  great 
influence  on  soft-rot. 

Beet-rust  (Uromyces  betae  Kuhn). 

This  rust,  which  has  been  known  in  Europe  for  a  half 
century,  is  found  in  some  American  beet  fields,  particularly 

1  Stevens,  F.  L.,  and  Hall,  J.  G.,  "Diseases  of  Economic 
Plants."  (1910),  p.  209. 


Pests  and  Diseases 

in  California.  It  has  the  appearance  of  the  true  rusts. 
The  leaves  contain  pustules  of  yellowish  brown  powder. 
Cold  damp  weather  favors  the  development  of  the  dis- 
ease, which  may  be  controlled  by  a  bordeaux  mixture 
spray,  should  it  become  sufficiently  serious  to  justify  this 
measure.  Affected  leaves  fed  to  stock  may  carry  the 
disease  through  the  manure  to  plants  the  following  season. 

Rhizoctonia. 

The  group  of  fungi  called  Rhizoctonia  by  De  Candolle 
seems  to  be  responsible  for  injury  to  beets  as  well  as  to 
potatoes.  The  beet  Rhizoctonia  has  gone  under  the 
name  Rhizoctonia  betae  Kuhn,  and  has  been  popularly 
known  as  root-rot.  This  disease  works  principally  in  the 
seedling  stage  of  the  plant.  At  this  time,  on  account  of 
its  girdling  action,  which  is  typical  of  Rhizoctonia,  it 
shuts  off  the  movement  of  food  to  the  roots  and  the  plant 
dies. 

No  effective  preventive  measure  for  controlling  this 
disease  is  known.  General  sanitary  conditions  —  drain- 
ing the  land  and  keeping  the  surface  of  the  soil  aerated 
and  in  a  good  sanitary  condition  —  help  in  retarding  its 
growth.  One  precaution  in  handling  the  trouble  is  to 
delay  planting  until  the  soil  is  warm  enough  to  enable  the 
seed  to  germinate  rapidly  and  for  the  seedling  to  get  a 
good  start. 

Sugar-beet  mosaic. 

This  disease  is  increasing  from  year  to  year.  In  some 
places  it  affects  a  high  percentage  of  the  plants.  It  causes 
the  leaves  to  turn  a  mottled  yellow  and  to  have  a  patched 


204  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

appearance.  The  shortened  petiole  resulting  from  it 
makes  the  plant  resemble  one  having  curly-top,  although 
the  two  diseases  are  easy  to  distinguish.  The  roots  of 
plants  having  the  mosaic  disease  are  likely  to  be  dwarfed 
and  are  often  hairy. 

Damping-off. 

The  damping-off  of  seedlings  near  the  surface  of  the 
ground  when  they  first  come  up  results  in  considerable 
loss  in  some  districts.  This  may  be  caused  by  a  number 
of  organisms,  among  which  are  Rhizoctonia,  Phoma,  and 
Pythium.  The  conditions  which  favor  damping-off  are 
heat,  abundant  moisture,  and  a  weakened  condition  of 
the  seedlings.  The  elimination  of  any  of  these  condi- 
tions greatly  reduces  the  difficulty  from  this  cause.  Plants 
on  heavy  clay  soils  are  more  subject  to  the  disease  than 
those  raised  on  lighter  soils.  Improving  the  tilth  of  these 
soils  also  reduces  the  likelihood  of  injury  from  damping- 
off. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
FACTORS  AFFECTING  QUALITY  OF  BEETS 

SUCCESS  in  the  beet-sugar  industry  depends  on  the 
maintenance  of  high  quality  in  the  beets.  The  industry 
was  made  possible  only  by  improving  the  quality  of  the 
crop ;  in  the  first  years  of  beet-sugar  making,  profits  were 
realized  only  in  the  more  favorable  seasons.  Since  the 
quality  of  beets  has  been  so  much  improved,  the  industry 
has  gained  a  foothold  that  places  the  raising  of  sugar- 
beets  as  one  of  the  important  phases  of  agriculture  in 
many  sections.  As  the  success  of  the  industry  is  so 
closely  related  to  the  quality  of  beets,  everybody  con- 
nected with  their  raising  or  the  manufacture  of  sugar  from 
them  is  interested  in  conditions  that  affect  quality. 

WHAT  ARE   GOOD   BEETS 

In  choosing  desirable  types  of  beets,  several  definite 
ideas  should  be  kept  in  mind.  Chief  attention  must  be 
given  to  high  sugar-content  combined  with  high  yield. 
These  two  characters  are  somewhat  antagonistic,  yet 
neither  can  be  neglected.  The  end  sought  is  the  highest 
acre-yield  of  sugar.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  desirable  to 
have  beets  of  a  size  and  shape  that  can  be  harvested  and 
handled  at  the  lowest  possible  labor  cost  to  the  farmer  as 
well  as  beets  from  which  the  manufacturer  can  extract 

205 


206  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

the  sugar  efficiently.  This  calls  for  beets  of  a  high- 
yielding  strain,  high  in  sugar  and  purity,  and  having  a 
desirable  size  and  shape. 

The  qualities  of  good  beets  are  summarized  by  New- 
lands  1  as  follows  (cf .  Plate  XXIV) : 

"  1.  They  have  a  regular  pear-shaped  form  and  smooth 
skin.  Long,  tapering  carrot-like  roots  are  considered 
inferior  to  pear-shaped  Silesian  beets. 

"2.  They  do  not  throw  out  forks,  or  fingers  or  toes. 

"3.  They  have  white  and  firm  flesh,  delicate  and  uni- 
form structure,  and  clean  sugary  flavor.  Thick-skinned 
roots  are  frequently  spongy,  and  always  more  watery 
than  beets  distinguished  by  a  uniform  firm  and  close 
texture. 

"4.  They  weigh,  on  an  average,  one  and  one-half  to 
two  and  one-half  pounds  apiece.  Neither  very  large  nor 
very  small  roots  are  profitable  to  the  sugar  manufacturer. 
As  a  rule,  beets  weighing  more  than  three  and  one-half 
pounds  are  watery  and  poor  in  sugar;  and  very  small 
roots,  weighing  less  than  three-fourths  of  a  pound,  are 
either  unripe  or  too  wroody,  and  in  either  case  yield  com- 
paratively little  sugar.  As  the  soil  and  season  have  a 
great  influence  on  the  composition  of  the  crop,  it  is  quite 
possible,  in  a  favorable  season,  and  with  proper  culti- 
vation, to  produce  beets  weighing  over  four  pounds,  which, 
nevertheless,  yield  a  good  percentage  of  sugar.  Speaking 
generally,  good  beet  roots  in  average  seasons  seldom  ex- 
ceed two  and  one-half  pounds  in  weight. 

"5.   Good  beets  show  no  tendency  to  become  necky, 

1  Newlands,  J.  A.  R.  and  B.  E.  R.,  "  Sugar,  a  Handbook  for 

Planters  and  Refiners,"  p.  395. 


PLATE  XXIV.  —  Above,  well-shaped  beets ;  center,  beets  of  poor  shape ; 
such  beets  grow  on  water-logged  land  and  also  result  from  great  quan- 
tities of  coarse  manure  in  the  soil ;  below,  three  types  of  beets ;  6  has 
a  more  desirable  shape  than  a  or  c. 


Factors  Affecting  Quality  of  Beets  207 

and  their  tops  are  always  smaller  than  those  of  inferior 
beets.  Cornwinder  has  shown  that  beets  with  large 
leaves  are  generally  richer  than  those  with  smaller  leaves, 
and  he  always  prefers  the  former  for  seed. 

"  6.  Good  beet  roots  are  considerably  denser  than  water, 
and  rapidly  sink  to  the  bottom  of  a  vessel  filled  with 
water.  The  specific  gravity  of  the  roots  affords  a  pretty 
good  test  of  their  quality,  for  the  greater  their  specific 
gravity  the  richer  they  will  be  found  in  sugar  as  a  rule. 
A  still  better  test  than  the  gravity  of  the  root  is  the 
specific  weight  of  the  expressed  juice.  The  juice  of  good 
roots  has  usually  a  density  varying  between  1.06  and 
1.07.  When  very  rich  in  sugar  the  gravity  of  the  juice 
rises  above  1.07,  even  reaching  1.078  in  English-grown 
roots,  indicating  over  14  per  cent  of  crystallizable  sugar. 
Juice  poor  in  sugar  always  has  a  density  below  1.06. 

"7.  In  a  well-cultivated  soil,  the  roots  grow  entirely 
in  the  ground,  and  throw  up  leaves  of  moderate  size. 
This  tendency  to  bury  itself  in  the  soil  is  characteristic 
of  good  sugar  beets,  but  it  may  be  greatly  frustrated  in 
thin  stony  soil  and  in  stiff  clay  resting  on  impervious 
subsoil." 

Sugar-beets  raised  under  irrigation  do  not  conform 
entirely  to  the  above  standards,  since  there  is  a  tendency 
for  them  to  grow  larger  than  when  irrigation  water  is  not 
applied;  good  beets  are  often  much  larger  than  New- 
lands'  figures  indicate.  It  must  be  remembered,  how- 
ever, that  very  large  beets  are  usually  lower  in  sugar  than 
the  smaller  ones.  A  definite  correlation  between  size 
and  sugar-content  has  been  observed  when  other  con- 
ditions are  the  same. 


208 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


CONDITIONS  PRODUCING  GOOD  BEETS 

Climate  is  one  of  the  most  important  agencies  affect- 
ing the  quality  of  beets.     Wiley,1  after  several  years  of 

TABLE  VI.  —  TABLE  OF  GENERAL  AVERAGES  OP  AGRICULTURAL 
AND  ANALYTICAL  DATA  FOR  THE  FIVE  YEARS,  1900-1904 

Stations  where  Irrigation  Was  not   Used 


AVERAGE 

ESTIMATED 

SUGAR  IN 

PURITY 

TEMPERATURE 

STATION 

YIELD  PER 

THE 

ACRE 

BEET 

CIENT 

June  to 

May  to 

August 

October 

Tons 

Per  Cent 

°F. 

°F. 

Lexington,  Ky.    .     . 

8.4 

9.0 

71.2 

75.2 

69.6 

Washington,  D.  C. 

15.7 

9.1 

71.3 

74.2 

68.9 

Blacksburg,  Va.a 

13.3 

12.9 

77.7 

69.9 

64.4 

Madison,  Wis.     .     . 

18.2 

13.0 

81.4 

69.3 

63.3 

Lafayette,  Ind.3  .     . 

7.5 

13.2 

83.2 

72.4 

67.4 

Ithaca,  N.  Y.  .     .     . 

13.3 

13.2 

79.0 

67.7 

62.1 

Ames,  Iowa  2  .     .     . 

14.2 

13.8 

79.6 

73.0 

66.6 

Agricultural  College, 

Mich.8     .... 

13.4 

14.2 

83.6 

68.0 

62.3 

Geneva,  N.  Y.     .     . 

16.1 

14.6 

85.1 

69.3 

64.0 

Stations  where  Irrigation  Was  Practiced 


Logan,  Utah  2      .     . 

18.9 

13.2 

81.2 

69.5 

62.4 

Pomona,  Cal.4     .     . 

8.0 

14.2 

82.5 

70.5 

68.9  8 

Fort  Collins,  Colo.2 

20.4 

14.7 

83.9 

65.1 

59.4 

1  Wiley,  H.  W.,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Chem.  Bui  No.  96. 

2  Data  for  3  years.  3  Data  for  4  years. 
4  Data  for  2  years. 

6 1904 ;  data  for  March  to  September. 


Factors  Affecting  Quality  of  Beets 


209 


experimentation,  has  pointed  out  how  the  weather,  par- 
ticularly the  temperature,  affects  the  percentage  of  sugar 
in  beets.  In  this  connection,  he  shows  that  a  high  sugar- 
content  usually  indicates  a  high  purity  also. 

Tables  VI  and  VII  summarize  the  results  of  five  years' 
experiments  with  sugar-beets  raised  under  widely  dif- 
ferent climatic  conditions  in  the  United  States.  The 
author  points  out  the  fact  that  temperature,  or,  in  other 

TABLE  VII.  —  GENERAL  AVERAGES  OP  METEOROLOGICAL  DATA 
(May  to  October)  FOR  THE  FIVE  YEARS,  1900-1904 

Stations  where  Irrigation  Was  not   Used 


STATION 

TEMPERA- 
TUBE 

PRECIPITA- 
TION 

CLEAR 
DATS 

SUNSHINB 

Lexington,  Ky      .... 

°F. 
696 

Inches 

14  9 

90 

Per  Cent 
71  6 

Washington,  D.  C.    .     .     . 
Blacksburg  Va 

68.8 
644 

21.5 
21  9 

83 
57 

62.9 
53  7 

Madison,  Wis  

63.3 

67.4 

21.1 
20.8 

56 
71 

647 

Ithaca,  N.  Y  
Ames  Iowa      

62.1 

66.6 

18.8 
250 

48 
107 

60.4 
642 

Agricultural  College,  Mich. 
Geneva,  N.  Y  

62.3 
64.0 

19.8 
20.0 

63 

59.6 

Stations  where  Irrigation  Was  Practiced 


62.4 

5.90 

126 

787 

Pomona,  Cal.2       .... 

68.9 

3.65 

124 

73.8 

Fort  Collins,  Colo.  *  .     .     . 

59.4 

11.00 

80 

63.8 

1  Three  years'  data. 

2  Two  years'  data ;    1904  data  for  March  to  September. 

p 


210  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

words,  latitude,  is  the  most  potent  element  of  environ- 
ment in  the  production  of  beets  rich  in  sugar. 

It  has  already  been  indicated  in  Chapter  V  that  the 
soil  does  not  have  so  great  an  effect  as  some  other  factors 
in  modifying  the  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  beet.  It 
does,  however,  have  some  effect  and  it  has  a  decided  in- 
fluence on  the  size  and  shape  of  beets  as  well  as  on  the 
purity  of  the  juice.  Headden 1  found  that  an  excess  of 
nitrates  in  the  soil  has  a  decidedly  detrimental  effect  on 
the  quality  of  beets.  He 2  showed  earlier  that  the  amount 
of  ash  in  the  beet  is  increased  by  the  presence  of  alkali. 
Voorhees 3  has  pointed  out  that  the  kind  of  fertilizer  and 
the  time  it  is  applied  influence  the  sugar-beet.  This  has 
been  discussed  more  fully  in  Chapter  VI.  It  has  often 
.been  observed  that  beets  high  in  sugar  have  a  lower 
percentage  of  ash  than  have  poor  beets. 

Soil  moisture  during  the  growing  season  is  one  of  the 
most  important  factors  influencing  the  quality  of  beets. 
This  has  been  discussed  in  Chapter  X  on  irrigation  and 
drainage. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  quality  of  individual 
beets  raised  under  the  same  conditions.  This  results  from 
the  ordinary  variation  found  among  all  plants  and  animals. 
Part  of  this  variation  is  due  to  heredity  and  is  trans- 
missible, but  part  of  it  cannot  be  transmitted  to  its 
progeny.  There  is,  of  course,  considerable  difference  in 
the  quality  of  beets  of  different  strains,  the  same  as  there 
is  a  variation  in  the  amount  of  milk  given  by  different 

1  Headden,  W.  P.,  Colo.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  183  (1912). 

2  Headden,  W.  P.,  Colo.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  46  (1898). 
*  Voorhees,  E.  B.,  "  Fertilizers,':  p.  344. 


Factors  Affecting  Quality  of  Beets  211 

breeds  of  cows.  The  relation  of  breeding  to  quality  is 
discussed  rather  fully  in  the  next  chapter. 

The  storage  of  beets  may  have  considerable  effect  on 
their  quality,  although  if  they  are  stored  properly  the 
quality  is  not  affected  materially.  A  normal  amount  of 
respiration  goes  on  in  all  beets ;  hence  there  is  a  gradual 
loss  of  sugar.  This  may  be  slight  if  the  temperature  is 
near  the  freezing  point;  but  it  increases  rapidly  as  the 
temperature  rises.  Claassen  l  says  that  the  rate  of  res- 
piration does  not  seem  to  be  affected  by  the  percentage 
of  sugar  in  the  beets,  but  that  it  is  much  more  rapid  in 
unripe  than  in  ripe  beets.  Breaking  the  beets  into  pieces 
and  also  any  other  mechanical  injury  tend  to  hasten 
respiration. 

Freezing  does  not  seem  to  injure  the  quality  of  beets, 
particularly  if  they  are  allowed  to  thaw  slowly.  Re- 
peated freezing  and  thawing,  however,  has  a  detrimental 
effect,  especially  if  the  beets  are  allowed  to  become  warm 
between  the  freezings.  Headden 2  found  that  though 
simple  freezing  does  not  change  the  sugar-content  of  the 
beet,  the  distribution  of  the  sugar  is  affected  if  only  part 
of  the  beet  is  frozen.  Sugar  moves  from  the  frozen  to  the 
unfrozen  part. 

Drying  increases  the  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  beet, 
but  the  total  amount  is  not  increased ;  in  fact  there  is  a 
loss  of  sugar  when  the  beets  are  allowed  to  lose  moisture. 
The  purity  is  also  reduced  by  drying.  It  is  also  more 
difficult  to  extract  sugar  from  wilted  beets.  The  factory, 
as  well  as  the  farmer,  loses  when  beets  are  allowed  to  wilt. 

1  Claassen,  H.,  "Beet  Sugar  Manufacture,"  p.  8. 
8  Headden,  W.  P.,  Colo.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  46. 


212  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

When  beets  have  to  be  stored  before  they  can  be  sliced, 
the  pile  should  be  given  as  smooth  a  surface  as  possible 
in  order  to  reduce  the  relative  amount  of  surface  exposed, 
and  thereby  reduce  evaporation.  It  is  neither  necessary 
nor  desirable  to  cover  beets  piled  in  this  way  when  the 
piles  are  large. 


CHAPTER  XV 
PRODUCTION  OF  SUGAR-BEET  SEED 

IN  obtaining  sugar  from  the  beet  there  are  three  dis- 
tinct enterprises:  the  production  of  seed,  the  raising  of 
beets,  and  the  manufacturing  of  sugar  from  the  beets. 
In  America,  only  the  last  two  have  been  given  special 
attention;  America  has  depended  on  Europe  for  seed. 
The  time  has  now  arrived  to  forge  the  third  link  in  the 
chain  necessary  to  make  the  American  beet-sugar  in- 
dustry secure.  The  uncertainty  of  a  foreign  supply  of 
seed  during  war  times,  endangering  an  enterprise  having 
a  hundred  million  dollars  invested,  has  demonstrated  that 
all  three  phases  of  the  industry  must  be  developed  at 
home. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  GOOD   SEED 

To  say  that  good  seed  is  desirable  is  simply  to  re-state 
one  of  the  commonplaces  of  all  sound  agricultural  teach- 
ing. In  the  case  of  sugar-beets,  however,  this  doctrine 
has  a  special  significance.  All  the  reasons  for  good  seed 
with  any  crop  apply  to  beets;  in  addition  the  entire 
success  of  the  industry  depends  on  having  seed  that  will 
produce  beets  of  a  standard  quality.  With  wheat,  if  the 
quality  of  seed  is  poor,  the  worst  that  can  happen  is  that 
the  yield  of  the  resulting  crop  may  be  reduced  by  a  few 

213 


214  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

bushels.  All  the  crop  that  is  produced  will  serve  the 
purpose  for  which  it  is  raised.  With  beets,  on  the  other 
hand,  unless  sufficient  sugar  is  present  to  permit  extrac- 
tion at  a  profit,  the  crop  is  practically  valueless  for  sugar- 
making. 

The  farmer  and  the  sugar  manufacturer  are  both  in- 
terested in  seed,  for  unless  the  factory  can  be  made  to 
pay,  the  business  will  have  to  be  discontinued  and  the 
farmer  will  not  have  a  market  for  his  crop.  The  interests 
of  the  sugar  factory  have  been  so  great  that  it  has  taken 
charge  of  the  seed  situation  and  has  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility of  furnishing  seed  to  farmers  contracting  to  raise 
beets.  The  factory  could  better  afford  to  give  the  farmers 
free  seed  that  would  produce  good  beets  than  to  allow 
them  to  plant  inferior  seed,  for  the  cost  of  seed  is  negli- 
gible in  comparison  to  other  costs.  If  two  grades  of  seed 
were  obtainable,  one  that  would  produce  beets  having 
14  per  cent  sugar  and  the  other  beets  with  16  per  cent 
with  equal  yield,  it  would  pay  the  sugar  company  to  take 
the  better  seed  if  it  sold  for  a  dollar  a  pound  and  the 
poorer  seed  could  be  secured  for  nothing.  This  shows 
how  absolutely  necessary  it  is  to  have  nothing  but  the  best 
seed. 

HIGH  GERMINATION 

From  the  farmer's  point  of  view,  seed  that  is  high  in 
germinating  power  is  essential.  The  yield  of  beets  to 
the  acre  is  directly  dependent  on  the  rate  of  germination 
of  the  seed.  With  some  other  crops,  such  as  wheat,  if 
the  stand  is  poor,  this  condition  can  be  overcome  in  part 
by  the  plants  stooling  and  producing  many  heads  from  a 


Production  of  Sugar-Beet  Seed  215 

single  seed.  More  than  a  hundred  heads  of  wheat  have 
been  reported  to  come  from  a  single  seed.  In  this  way 
the  plant  tends  to  use  all  the  food  and  moisture  that  is 
available  in  the  soil  even  with  a  comparatively  thin  stand. 
Beets  have  no  such  power  to  make  up  for  a  thin  stand. 
The  roots  may  be  somewhat  larger  where  they  are  not 
crowded;  but  if  many  of  the  seeds  fail  to  germinate,  it 
is  impossible  to  secure  a  satisfactory  yield.  If  there  are 
blank  spaces  in  the  beet  rows,  the  yield  will  be  reduced 
by  just  that  much.  For  this  reason  it  is  important  to 
make  careful  germination  tests  of  every  lot  of  seed  that 
is  offered  for  sale.  Particularly  is  this  true  of  seed  that 
is  stained  and  dark  in  color,  indicating  that  it  has  been  wet. 

SOURCES  OF  SEED 

Until  the  last  few  years,  practically  all  of  the  sugar- 
beet  seed  used  in  America  was  imported  from  Europe. 
This  was  not  because  it  could  not  be  raised  in  America, 
but  because  foreign  seed  could  be  obtained  at  a  low  price 
and  it  was  much  less  trouble  to  secure  it  in  this  way  than 
to  produce  it  at  home.  The  sugar  companies  arranged 
for  the  seed ;  they  were  in  the  business  of  making  sugar 
and  not  of  producing  seed;  hence  they  took  the  line  of 
least  resistance  and  purchased  the  seed  where  it  could  be 
obtained  easiest.  For  this  reason,  a  home  seed  industry 
was  never  developed.  This  method  of  procuring  seed 
was  satisfactory  as  long  as  everything  went  well,  but  it 
had  its  decided  disadvantage. 

The  seed  requirements  of  the  United  States  for  the 
next  few  years  probably  will  reach  nearly  15,000,000 


216 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


pounds  a  year.  For  a  number  of  years,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  10,000,000  pounds  of  seed  have  been  used  annually. 
Prior  to  1911,  practically  all  this  seed  came  from  Germany, 
Austria-Hungary,  Russia,  and  France.  Since  that  time 
the  home  production  has  grown,  and  since  1914,  when  the 
European  war  made  it  impossible  to  depend  on  the  old 
supply,  the  industry  has  developed  very  rapidly  in 
America.  Palmer  1  states  that  90  per  cent  of  all  the  beet 
seed  used  in  the  world  is  produced  in  Germany  and  Russia ; 
69  per  cent  is  from  German-grown  seed ;  and  78  per  cent 
of  all  the  beet-sugar  produced  outside  of  Russia  and 
Germany  is  from  German-grown  seed. 

The  amount  of  seed  produced  in  the  United  States  in 
1916  and  1917  is  given  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  2 
as  follows : 

TABLE  VIII.  —  SUGAR-BEET  SEED  PRODUCED  IN  THE  UNITED 

STATES 


STATES 

BEETS  GROWN  FOB  SEED 

1916 

1917  (Preliminary) 

Area 

Production  of 
Seed 

Area 

Production  of 
Seed 

California,  Idaho,  Utah  . 
Colorado,  Kansas,  Mon- 
tana, Nebraska  . 
Michigan  and  Ohio     .     . 

Acres 
2,178 

2,725 
365 

Pounds 

1,628,000 

3,455,000 
128,000 

Acres 

2,523 

1,978 

78 

Pounds 

2,458,000 

3,030,000 
58,000 

Total      

5,268 

5,211,000 

4,579 

5,546,000 

1  Palmer,  T.  G.,  "Sugar  Beet  Seed"  (1918),  p.  101. 

2  Monthly  Crop  Report,  December,  1917,  p.  128. 


Production  of  Sugar-Beet  Seed  217 

These  figures  show  that  between  a  third  and  a  half  of 
the  seed  required  was  produced  in  the  country  during 
1916  and  1917.  Considerable  of  the  remainder  came 
from  Russia  through  Siberia.  Since  the  reserves  of  seed 
stored  in  the  country  have  gradually  decreased,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  rely  entirely  on  the  home  supply  until 
seed  can  be  obtained  from  Europe. 


DISADVANTAGES  OF  IMPORTING   SEED 

The  importation  of  seed  is  attended  by  many  disad- 
vantages. In  the  first  place,  the  entire  beet-sugar  in- 
dustry is  threatened  in  times  of  war,  when,  for  any  reason, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  import  seed.  This  condition 
cannot  fail  to  detract  to  a  great  extent  from  the  stability 
of  the  industry.  Perhaps  the  most  important  disad- 
vantage of  imported  seed  is  that  the  breeding  has  been 
done  for  conditions  unlike  those  in  which  the  beets  are 
to  be  raised.  Since  the  climate  and  soils  of  Europe  are 
different  from  those  of  the  beet-growing  sections  of  the 
United  States,  there  is  doubtless  a  great  loss  in  yield  and 
sugar-content  due  to  the  foreign  seed  not  being  entirely 
suited  to  local  conditions.  When  the  source  of  supply 
is  not  near  at  hand,  there  is  likely  to  be  difficulty  in  ad- 
justing any  little  business  differences,  which  at  times  may 
become  annoying.  In  times  of  scarcity  of  good  seed, 
there  is  also  a  likelihood  that  the  best  will  be  held  in 
Europe  for  home-planting  and  inferior  seed  sent  to 
America. 

Tests  made  at  Schuyler,  Nebraska,  as  early  as  1893, 
gave  better  yields  of  beets  with  higher  sugar-content 


218 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


from  domestic  than  from  imported  seed.  The  same  result 
has  been  obtained  in  many  other  places  since  that  time. 
At  the  Utah  Experiment  Station,1  tests  were  made  to 
compare  imported  seed  with  that  produced  on  the  Station 
farm.  The  results  given  for  imported  seed  represent  the 
average  of  seed  received  from  a  number  of  foreign  seed 
companies.  In  all  cases,  it  was  represented  to  be  superior 
seed.  The  home-grown  seed  is  from  strains  raised  at  the 
Experiment  Station  for  ten  years : 

TABLE  IX.  —  COMPARISON  OF  BEETS  RAISED  FROM  IMPORTED 
AND  FROM  UTAH  EXPERIMENT  STATION  SEED 


YEAB 

UTAH  SEED 

IMPOBTED  SEED 

Per  Cent  Sugar 
in  Beets 

Yield  Beets 
Tons  per  Acre 

Per  Cent  Sugar 
in  Beets 

Yield  Beets 
Tons  per 
Acre 

1912    .     .     . 

18.97 

22.68 

18.25 

25.15 

1913    .     .     . 

16.40 

21.28 

15.58 

26.08 

1914    .     .     . 

16.25 

25.06 

15.45 

29.03 

The  table  shows  that  although  the  beets  from  home- 
grown seed  were  higher  in  sugar-content  in  each  of  the 
years  than  the  beets  from  imported  seed,  the  yield  was 
somewhat  higher  for  the  imported  seed. 

Germination  tests  were  conducted  to  compare  the  im- 
ported and  the  home-grown  seed  with  the  following  result 
expressed  in  number  of  sprouts  to  100  seed-balls:  Im- 
ported seed  —  a,  53;  b,  79;  and  c,  124;  the  average  of 
six  samples  of  home-grown  seed  was  126.  Since  each 

1  Harris,  F.  S.,  Utah  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  136  (1915). 


Production  of  Sugar-Beet  Seed  219 

seed-ball  contains  a  number  of  germs,  there  are  often 
more  sprouts  than  seed-balls.  It  will  be  noted  that  of 
the  three  samples  of  foreign  seed,  not  one  was  equal  to 
the  home-grown  seed  in  germinating  power. 

The  climate  of  the  irrigated  section  of  the  West  seems 
well  adapted  to  the  production  of  sugar-beet  seed.  The 
use  of  irrigation  to  control  the  soil  moisture  and  the  warm 
dry  weather  during  the  season  when  seed  is  growing  make 
an  almost  ideal  combination.  In  the  sixteen  years  since 
the  Utah  Experiment  Station  began  raising  sugar-beet 
seed,  there  has  not  been  a  single  failure. 


TYPES   OF   BEETS 

America  has  produced  no  distinct  varieties  or  types  of 
sugar-beets.  An  examination  of  almost  any  commercial 
field  reveals  a  great  diversity  in  shape  and  manner  of 
growth.  Some  roots  are  long  and  of  small  diameter; 
others  are  short  and  turnip-like.  The  tops  vary  from 
erect  plants  with  big  leaves  to  plants  with  small  leaves 
spreading  out  near  the  ground.  These  conditions  show 
a  great  admixture  of  strains. 

All  of  the  sugar-beets  belong  to  the  same  botanical 
species,  Beta  vulgaris.  The  differences  have  arisen  from 
selection  of  special  characters  and  have  given  rise  to 
variation  in  shape,  color,  and  size  of  beet,  amount  and 
manner  of  growth  in  foliage,  as  well  as  in  sugar-content 
and  yield.  Selections  were  always  made  to  improve  the 
beet,  and  these  selections  resulted  in  considerable  variation 
in  appearance.  Trade  names  have  been  given  to  the 
various  types.  Among  the  most  common  are :  Vilmorin, 


220  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

Kleinwanzlebener,  Excelsior,  Imperial,  Simon-Legrand, 
Florimond,  Bultean-Desprez  Richest,  Schrieber,  Heine, 
Brabant  Demesmal,  Electoral  Elite,  Imperator.  The 
two  first-named  varieties  are  most  widely  known  in  this 
country. 

If  America  is  to  establish  a  permanent  sugar-beet-seed 
industry,  one  of  the  first  steps  will  be  the  production  of 
strains  of  beets  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  country.  With- 
out doubt,  some  of  the  better  European  strains  will  fur- 
nish the  basis  for  selection.  In  any  event  the  work  should 
be  seriously  undertaken  and  continued  as  long  as  necessary. 
This  will  require  many  years  of  careful  work,  but  the  re- 
turns probably  will  justify  all  the  work  that  is  done. 

SINGLE-GERM  SEED 

The  fact  that  the  seed-ball  contains  several  germs, 
each  of  which  may  produce  a  beet  plant,  makes  the  work 
of  thinning  laborious.  Even  though  the  seeds  are  scat- 
tered at  intervals  in  the  row,  the  young  plants  are  found 
in  such  clusters  that  the  extra  plants  can  be  removed 
successfully  only  by  hand.  This  means  that  the  number 
of  acres  of  beets  a  farmer  can  raise  is  usually  limited  by 
the  amount  of  help  he  can  secure  at  thinning  time.  It 
also  means  that  the  expense  of  thinning  is  high. 

These  conditions  led  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  in  the  early  days  of  the  beet-sugar  industry, 
to  conduct  rather  extensive  experiments  on  the  breeding 
of  strains  of  beets  producing  seed-balls  that  contained 
but  one  germ.  Though  some  progress  was  made,  the 
results  were  not  altogether  satisfactory  and  the  work  was 


PLATE  XXV.  —  Above,  pedigreed  sugar-beets,  Utah  Experiment  Sta- 
tion ;  center,  silos  for  storing  mother  beets  over  winter ;  below,  stecklinge 
being  taken  from  the  silo  to  the  field  for  planting. 


Production  of  Sugar-Beet  Seed  221 

abandoned.  Whether  or  not  the  single-germ  beet  seed 
is  practical,  only  the  future  can  demonstrate.  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  however,  about  the  desirability  of  having 
seed  of  this  kind. 


BREEDING    (PLATE  XXV) 

There  are  two  distinct  phases  to  the  sugar-beet-seed 
business :  (1)  the  breeding  of  desirable  strains,  and 
(2)  the  commercial  production  of  seed.  This  is  true  to 
an  extent  in  every  branch  of  plant  and  animal  production. 
The  man  who  is  engaged  in  that  phase  of  dairying  which 
deals  with  commercial  milk  production  may  be  entirely 
dependent  on  some  breeder  of  dairy  stock  for  his  cows; 
likewise,  the  man  who  is  breeding  some  new  and  desirable 
type  of  plant  may  not  be  interested  in  the  general  seed 
trade.  The  ordinary  individual  farmer  probably  will 
never  take  an  important  part  in  breeding  sugar-beets; 
he  may,  however,  engage  in  the  commercial  production 
of  sugar-beet  seed,  using  as  his  start  "mother  seed"  that 
has  been  produced  by  a  professional  breeder. 

Chemical  test  of  mothers. 

The  breeding  of  sugar-beets  is  not  so  simple  as  that  of 
most  other  crops,  the  quality  of  which  can  usually  be 
determined  by  examination.  With  beets,  the  important 
factor,  the  sugar-content,  can  be  determined  only  after 
making  a  chemical  analysis.  Some  selection  of  beets 
has  been  made  by  specific  gravity  as  determined  in  a 
brine  solution.  This  method,  while  it  indicates  to  a 
certain  extent  the  amount  of  sugar,  is  so  inexact  that  it 


222  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

finds  very  little  use.     In  the  standard  method  of  selection 
the  chemical  analysis  is  used. 

The  beet  to  be  tested  is  cleaned  and  the  sample  to  be 
analyzed  is  obtained  by  boring  a  hole  diagonally  through 
the  beet  near  the  thickest  point  in  such  a  way  that  the 
various  zones  of  high  and  low  sugar  will  be  represented. 
A  given  weight  of  the  pulp  obtained  from  the  boring  is 
placed  in  a  dish  and  the  sugar  extracted  by  any  one  of  a 
number  of  methods.  The  solution  containing  the  sugar 
is  then  placed  in  a  tube  which  is  inserted  in  a  polariscope 
by  aid  of  which  the  percentage  is  read  directly.  The 
process  is  not  difficult,  but  it  requires  skill  in  laboratory 
manipulation  and  is  not  adapted  to  use  by  the  average 
farmer.  Removing  the  core  does  not  interfere  with  the 
growth  of  the  beet  if  it  is  stored  properly. 

Steps  in  selection. 

It  is  not  safe  to  save  all  beets  that  are  high  in  sugar 
without  making  further  tests  to  see  which  ones  transmit 
this  quality.  The  individual  beet  may  be  high  in  sugar 
because  of  its  environment  and  may  not  be  of  a  high- 
producing  strain.  For  this  reason,  several  years  of  selec- 
tion are  required  before  one  can  be  sure  of  quality  of 
seed  that  will  be  produced.  It  is  not  the  mother  beet 
with  high  sugar-content  that  is  desired,  but  the  mother 
whose  progeny  will  be  high  in  sugar.  In  testing  strains, 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  for  comparison  standard  seed 
for  growing  in  different  parts  of  the  test  field. 

The  procedure  usually  carried  out  is  somewhat  as 
follows:  The  first  year  a  great  many  beets  of  desirable 
size  and  shape  are  analyzed  for  sugar.  The  better  in- 


Production  of  Sugar-Beet  Seed  223 

dividual  beets  are  siloed ;  the  second  year  these  are  planted 
separately  and  the  resulting  beets  analyzed.  From  this 
analysis  it  is  possible  to  determine  which  of  the  original 
beets  with  a  high  sugar-content  are  able  to  transmit  to 
their  progeny  this  necessary  quality.  The  poor  strains 
are  discarded  and  the  good  ones  siloed,  to  be  used  the 
fourth  year  in  producing  the  "mother  seed."  The  mother 
seed  is  planted  the  fifth  year  and  the  beets  obtained  from 
it  produce  the  commercial  seed  the  sixth  year.  The  part 
of  the  work  requiring  skill  and  patience  is  the  obtaining 
of  dependable  mother  seed. 

In  planting  beets  from  which  the  commercial  seed  is 
produced,  the  roots  are  left  considerably  closer  together 
in  the  rows  than  when  regular  beets  are  to  be  raised. 
About  eight  pounds  of  seed  are  used  to  the  acre  and  the 
plants  are  not  thinned  in  the  ordinary  way.  Sometimes 
the  plants  are  thinned  to  three  or  four  inches  apart  in 
the  row  and  sometimes  they  are  left  unthinned.  This 
method  is  used  in  order  to  save  labor  in  handling  the 
beets.  Less  storage  space  is  required  for  the  small  beets 
than  for  those  of  full  size.  Being  small  does  not  seem  to 
reduce  materially  the  amount  of  seed  produced.  These 
small  beets  are  called  "stecklinge."  Beets  that  are 
large  are  sometimes  split  lengthwise  into  two  or  three 
pieces,  each  of  which  will  grow  if  part  of  the  live  buds  in 
the  crown  are  retained. 

COMMERCIAL  PRODUCTION  OF  SEED 

Siloing. 

One  of  the  most  important  operations  in  connection 
with  seed  production  is  the  storing  over  winter,  or  siloing, 


224  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

of  the  beets  that  are  to  be  used  the  next  year  in  raising 
seed.  At  the  Utah  Station  several  methods  of  siloing 
have  been  tested;  a  number  of  these  have  given  good 
satisfaction.  The  important  precautions  to  be  kept  in 
mind  are  that  the  beets  must  not  be  allowed  to  dry,  to 
freeze,  or  to  heat.  Sufficient  ventilation  must  be  pro- 
vided to  allow  the  carbon  dioxid  produced  by  normal 
respiration  to  escape  and  at  the  same  time  not  enough 
to  dry  the  beets.  Sufficient  covering  must  be  given  to 
prevent  freezing,  but  not  enough  to  cause  heating. 

Beets  stored  in  moist  sand  kept  better  than  by  any 
other  method  used,  although  this  method  is  not  practical 
except  for  the  comparatively  few  mother  beets  that  have 
been  individually  analyzed  and  are  more  likely  to  decay 
on  account  of  the  wound  caused  when  the  core  is  removed 
for  analysis. 

For  the  great  number  of  beets  used  in  producing  com- 
mercial seed,  perhaps  the  best  way  is  to  silo  them  in  the 
field.  This  is  done  by  piling  the  beets  on  top  of  the  ground 
or  in  a  shallow  trench  in  ricks  four  or  five  feet  wide,  and 
then  covering  them  with  soil.  Only  a  light  covering  is 
given  at  first  and  more  is  added  as  the  weather  becomes 
cooler.  In  very  cold  weather  manure  on  top  of  the  silo 
is  helpful. 

Ventilators  should  be  placed  in  the  ricks  every  few  feet 
to  allow  carbon  dioxid  to  escape  and  fresh  air  to  enter. 
Less  ventilation  is  necessary  if  the  remainder  of  the  silo 
is  left  open  a  few  weeks  after  the  beets  are  placed  in  it. 
If  a  long  rick  is  made,  the  beets  should  be  divided  every 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  order  that  if  decay  begins  at  any 
point  it  will  not  destroy  all  the  beets  in  the  silo.  Before 


Production  of  Sugar-Beet  Seed  225 

placing  the  beets  in  the  silo  it  is  a  good  plan  to  remove  the 
tops,  leaving  enough  of  the  crown  and  tops  to  permit 
growth  to  begin  the  next  spring.  If  mother  beets  are 
allowed  to  wilt  before  they  are  planted,  the  yield  of  seed 
is  greatly  reduced.  Likewise,  if  they  are  not  put  into  the 
silos  fresh,  the  keeping  quality  is  not  so  good.  Beets  to 
be  siloed  should  usually  be  left  in  the  fields  as  long  as 
possible  before  digging,  keeping  in  mind  the  injury  that 
may  result  from  frost. 

The  methods  of  siloing  vary  considerably  with  the  in- 
tensity of  the  winter  cold.  In  some  climates  beets  live 
over  winter  in  the  field  and  will  produce  seed  without 
being  dug  and  siloed.  This  is  not  the  case,  however,  in 
most  of  the  best  seed-producing  sections.  The  tempera- 
ture of  the  beets  in  the  silo  should  be  taken  at  intervals 
during  the  winter  to  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  amount  of 
covering  needed. 

Planting  mother  beets. 

The  stecklinge  can  be  planted  considerably  earlier  in 
the  spring  than  the  best  seed,  since  the  old  beets  are  not 
as  sensitive  to  frost  as  are  seedlings.  It  is  probably  need- 
less to  say  that  the  land  should  have  been  plowed  deeply. 
Experiments  with  a  number  of  methods  of  planting  and 
distances  between  plants  have  been  made  and  the  follow- 
ing method  adopted  as  a  result : 

The  land  is  marked  each  way  about  thirty  inches  apart 
and  a  beet  dropped  at  each  crossing  of  the  marks.  The 
best  distance  apart  will,  of  course,  depend  on  conditions. 
A  long  spade  is  pushed  into  the  ground  and  the  beet  put 
in  behind  or  in  front  of  the  spade  when  it  is  moved  for- 
Q 


226  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

ward.  It  is  important  to  plant  the  beets  well  below  the 
surface  of  the  soil.  The  crown  should  be  covered  with 
a  small  quantity  of  soil  to  protect  the  budding  top.  The 
rows  being  the  same  distance  apart  each  way,  the  culti- 
vator can  be  run  in  two  directions  and  much  hand  labor 
thereby  saved.  In  many  cases  no  attempt  is  made  to 
provide  for  two-way  cultivation;  the  beets  are  merely 
planted  every  twenty  to  thirty  inches  apart  in  rows  that 
are  about  three  feet  apart.  Sometimes  a  furrow  is  made 
with  a  plow  or  deep  cultivator  and  the  beets  planted  in 
it. 

The  South  Dakota  Station  1  reports  using  a  machine 
for  transplanting  beets  in  1916.  It  was  an  adapted 
planter  similar  to  those  used  in  transplanting  tobacco; 
it  was  also  used  in  transplanting  alfalfa  roots.  "This  is 
a  two-wheeled  machine  with  one  shovel  to  open  the 
furrows,  two  boxes  to  hold  the  beets  and  three  seats,  one 
for  the  driver  and  two  for  the  beet  droppers.  Wings  draw 
the  dirt  around  the  beets  as  they  are  dropped.  A  pair  of 
rollers  to  firm  the  dirt  around  the  beets  would  make  a 
great  improvement.  About  two  or  two  and  a  half  acres 
a  day  was  the  rate  achieved  in  the  trials."  It  seems 
probable  that  some  machine  will  be  devised  to  reduce  the 
great  amount  of  hand  labor  required  in  planting  mother 
beets. 

Care  of  seed  crop  during  growth. 

When  seed  is  raised  under  irrigation,  it  seems  advisable 
to  apply  water  very  soon  after  the  beets  are  planted  in 

1  Shephard,  J.  H.,  South  Dakota  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  173. 
(1917),  p.  615. 


I 


1 


Production  of  Sugar-Beet  Seed  227 

order  that  the  soil  may  be  firmed  around  the  roots  and 
also  to  insure  an  early  starting  of  growth.  Two  or  three 
additional  irrigations  are  usually  ample  to  mature  the 
seed  crop.  The  soil  should  have  sufficient  moisture  while 
the  seed  is  forming.  Early  cultivation  is  desirable  to 
keep  weeds  in  check  as  they  are  much  more  easily  killed 
at  this  time.  After  the  seed-stalks  become  too  large,  it 
is  difficult  to  get  through  the  field  with  a  cultivator ;  un- 
less weeds  have  been  kept  in  check  up  to  this  tune,  they 
may  prove  troublesome  and  may  need  to  be  removed  by 
hand.  In  any  case,  late  hoeing  may  be  desirable. 

Harvesting  and  threshing.  (Plate  XXVI.) 
Since  the  seed  does  not  ripen  evenly,  it  is  necessary  to 
go  over  the  field  and  cut  some  of  the  plants  before  all  are 
ripe.  This  is  not  practical  when  seed  is  raised  on  a  large 
scale.  The  ripening  period  may  extend  over  a  number  of 
weeks.  The  cutting  is  done  with  a  sickle  and  the  seed- 
stalks  piled  in  the  field  to  dry  before  threshing.  It 
usually  pays  to  go  over  the  field  after  harvest  with  a  brush 
and  dustpan  to  glean  seed  that  has  fallen  to  the  ground  in 
cutting.  Threshing  can  be  performed  with  an  ordinary 
grain  thresher  with  the  speed  retarded,  special  screens, 
and  certain  adjustments.  Special  threshers  may  also  be 
procured.  From  fifteen  to  twenty  tons  of  seed  can  be 
threshed  in  a  day. 

After  the  seed  is  threshed,  some  dirt  and  stems  always 
remain.  These  are  best  removed  by  running  the  seed 
over  a  revolving  canvas,  which  allows  the  seed  to  roll  off 
and  at  the  same  time  carries  the  stems  away.  The  dirt 
and  chaff  are  removed  with  a  fanning  mill  before  the  seed 


228  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

is  run  over  the  canvas.  The  seed-cleaning  machines  may 
be  purchased,  or  one  may  be  made  at  home  for  about 
$100.  A  good  machine  will  clean  about  a  ton  of  seed  in  a 
day. 

By-products. 

After  the  seed  crop  is  harvested,  the  beets  and  part  of 
the  stems  and  leaves  still  remain  in  the  field.  The  beets 
contain  considerable  sugar,  although  much  less  than  at 
first.  They  have,  however,  acquired  a  woody  texture 
that  renders  them  much  less  palatable  to  stock  than  the 
fresh  beets.  A  number  of  cases  have  been  reported  of 
animals  dying  as  a  result  of  accumulated  balls  of  this 
fibrous  material  in  the  digestive  tract  when  fed  too  many 
of  these  beets.  They  have  been  used  in  many  other  cases 
without  any  apparent  ill  effects.  The  method  of  utiliz- 
ing these  beets  most  economically  is  not  known,  but  it 
is  probable  that  the  cheapest  way  is  to  have  stock  pasture 
on  these  old  roots  directly  in  the  field  similar  to  hogging- 
off  corn.  They  can  be  used  safely  and  economically  in 
this  way  to  supplement  other  feeds. 

Yields  and  profits. 

The  amount  of  seed  produced  varies  greatly  under  dif- 
ferent conditions.  If  all  the  plants  give  a  normal  yield, 
the  amount  of  seed  that  would  be  expected  theoretically 
would  be  several  times  the  yield  actually  realized  in 
practice.  One  of  the  chief  causes  for  this  is  that  a  large 
number  of  the  plants  never  send  up  seed-stalks,  but 
throughout  the  summer  merely  develop  a  dense  growth 
of  leaves. 


Production  of  Sugar-Beet  Seed 


229 


At  the  Utah  Station  tests  running  for  nine  years  gave 
the  following  yield  of  seed  from  the  individual  plants : 


TABLE  X.  —  AVERAGE  WEIGHT  OF  SEED  PRODUCED  BY  MOTHER 

BEETS 


YBAB 

NUMBER  MOTHERS 
TESTED 

AVERAGE  WEIGHT  OF 
SEED  PER  BEET  (grams)4 

1905      

309 

368.9 

1906           .... 

66 

356.5 

1907      

178 

714.6 

1908     

200 

722.6 

1909     

395 

405.0 

1910     

348 

282.3 

1911      

470 

374.3 

1912      

135 

393.4 

1913      

53 

263.7 

Average  .     .     . 

431.2 

An  acre  of  land  contains  about  7000  mother  beets.  If 
each  one  produced  as  much  as  the  average  reported  above, 
nearly  7000  pounds  of  seed  to  the  acre  might  be  expected. 
This,  however,  is  not  approached  in  practice.  The  yield 
is  usually  between  1000  and  2000  pounds  to  the  acre.  A 
yield  greater  than  2000  pounds  is  exceptional.  The 
average  yield  of  seed  for  the  United  States  for  1916  and 
1917  was  about  1100  pounds  to  the  acre. 

The  fields  of  commercial  seed  raised  by  the  Utah  Ex- 
periment Station  at  Logan  have  given  the  following  yields 
during  the  years  1912  to  1917  inclusive : 


1  There  are  453  grams  in  one  pound. 


230 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


TABLE  XI.  —  YIELD  TO  THE  ACRE  OF  SUGAR-BEET  SEED,  LOGAN, 

UTAH 


YEAB 

POUNDS  OP  BEET  SEED  TO  THE  ACRE 

1912  

,190 

1913  

354 

1914  

571 

1915  

,868 

1916       

,558 

1917  

,223 

Average 

1,461 

At  a  price  of  fifteen  cents  a  pound  for  the  seed,  the  re- 
turn for  an  acre  is  $219.15. 

The  cost  of  producing  this  seed  varies  so  much  with 
conditions  that  definite  figures  are  almost  useless,  but  the 
following  figures  for  cost  are  suggestive  : 

TABLE   XII.  —  ESTIMATED   COST   OF   RAISING   ONE   ACRE   OF 
SUGAR-BEET  SEED 


Rent  of  land  (value  $250  an  acre)  .  . 
Plowing  and  preparing  land  .... 
Hauling  stecklinge  from  silo  and  planting 

Cultivating  and  irrigating 

Hoeing 

Cutting  seed 

Threshing  and  cleaning 

Cost  of  mother  seed  and  stecklinge  .     . 


$  20.00 
5.00 
15.00 
6.00 
2.00 
5.00 
15.00 
40.00 
Total $108.00 

A  comparison  of  these  figures  for  cost  with  the  price 
obtained  for  seed  shows  that  a  good  profit  may  be  made. 
This  profit,  taken  with  the  fact  that  domestic  seed  is  better 
than  the  imported,  surely  justifies  the  establishment  of  a 
sugar-beet-seed  industry  in  America. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
COST  OF  PRODUCING  BEETS 

No  phase  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  is  more  elusive 
than  the  cost  of  producing  beets.  The  costs  involved  in 
slicing  the  beets,  extracting  the  sugar,  evaporating  the 
juice,  and  handling  the  sugar  can  be  determined  with 
considerable  accuracy;  under  normal  conditions,  these 
manufacturing  processes  are  fairly  constant  in  their  cost. 
The  cost  of  raising  beets,  on  the  other  hand,  is  exceed- 
ingly variable  from  field  to  field  and  from  year  to  year. 
Cost  determinations  are  usually  made  on  the  basis  of  an 
acre  of  beets;  but  a  much  more  useful  figure  would  be 
the  cost  of  a  ton  of  beets,  or  even  better,  the  beet-cost 
entering  into  a  hundred  pounds  of  sugar.  The  costs 
reported  thus  far  have  been  worked  out  largely  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  dollar  basis.  They  have  been  arrived 
at  without  making  a  detailed  study  of  the  hours  of  man 
and  horse  labor  that  enter  into  the  production  of  the  crop 
or  without  including  in  every  case  definite  information 
with  reference  to  other  items  of  cost  that  form  a  part  of 
the  account. 

NEED  FOR   LOW  COST 

The  permanency  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  in  any 
country  depends  on  the  ability  of  farmers  to  produce 

23] 


232  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

beets  at  a  low  cost.  In  unusual  times  and  when  sugar  is 
scarce  and  high  priced,  it  may  be  manufactured  at  a 
profit  even  if  the  beets  are  not  raised  in  an  efficient  manner 
and  if  the  cost  of  production  is  high;  but  if  conditions 
throughout  the  world  become  balanced,  beet-sugar  will 
not  be  able  to  compete  with  cane-sugar,  even  though  the 
former  may  enjoy  a  limited  protection.  The  life  of  the 
industry  depends  on  the  efficiency  of  the  beet  farmer,  who 
should  seek  in  every  way  to  reduce  costs  rather  than  to 
increase  them.  The  process  of  extracting  sugar  from  beets 
has  reached  a  high  state  of  perfection.  The  farmer  should 
try  to  make  his  methods  equally  perfect. 

The  constant  friction  between  the  farmer  and  the  sugar 
company  regarding  the  price  of  beets  causes  the  farmer 
to  make  his  costs  seem  as  high  as  possible,  whereas  the 
manufacturer  wants  them  to  be  low.  This  leads  to  con- 
siderable discrepancy  in  estimates  of  costs  and  makes  it 
more  difficult  to  determine  actual  costs.  The  profit- 
sharing  plans  for  paying  for  beets,  which  are  being  dis- 
cussed more  each  year,  will  necessitate  definite  cost  figures 
being  obtained,  not  only  for  the  making  of  sugar,  but  also 
for  the  raising  of  beets.  Farmer  and  manufacturer  alike 
should  be  interested  in  keeping  the  cost  of  both  phases  of 
the  industry  as  low  as  possible  in  order  that  each  may 
obtain  the  greatest  profit. 

Practically  the  entire  world's  supply  of  sugar  under 
normal  conditions  comes  from  countries  such  as  Cuba, 
Java,  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  France,  and  Russia, 
where  labor  is  much  cheaper  than  in  the  United  States. 
If  we  are  to  produce  sugar  in  competition,  it  is  essential 
that  our  labor  be  made  as  efficient  as  possible  by  the  use  of 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets  233 

machinery  and  the  application  of  scientific  methods  to 
the  farm.  It  will  also  be  necessary  to  raise  sugar-beets 
in  the  parts  of  the  country  best  adapted  to  their  growth. 
It  is  on  the  farm  that  this  greater  efficiency  must  be 
sought,  since  the  price  paid  for  the  beets  is  the  chief  item 
of  expense  involved  in  the  cost  of  beet-sugar. 

DIFFICULTY  OF  OBTAINING  COSTS 

It  is  often  asserted  that  beet  producers  are  receiving 
abnormal  profits  for  their  crops ;  and  about  equally  often 
the  beet-growers  contend  that  there  is  no  profit  in  raising 
beets,  or  that  if  all  costs  were  considered  the  crop  is 
ordinarily  produced  at  a  loss.  Data  to  prove  either  con- 
tention can  be  gathered  from  both  large  and  small  farms. 
In  some  communities  only  a  very  few  farmers  can  pro- 
duce beets  at  a  profit  when  the  average  for  a  number  of 
years  is  taken.  Naturally,  in  such  places,  beets  become 
unpopular  and  conclusive  results  can  be  given  to  show 
that  beets  are  unprofitable;  in  a  more  favored  locality, 
the  opposite  can  be  shown  as  readily. 

It  is  highly  desirable  to  find  unbiased  results  that  will 
show  the  true  condition  for  the  sugar-beet  producers  of 
the  country  as  a  whole,  for  each  locality,  and  for  each 
individual  farm.  At  present  such  data  have  not  been 
determined  satisfactorily.  Much  valuable  material  has 
been  compiled  to  show  the  costs,  but  since  many  factors 
are  unfortunately  left  out  of  most  of  these  compilations, 
they  do  not  represent  the  true  cost.  Results  in  this  re- 
gard, as  reported  from  experiments  on  a  small  scale, 
generally  show  high  yields  and  a  high  labor  cost,  indicat- 


234  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

ing  that  more  care  has  been  taken  than  could  be  reasonably 
expected  in  ordinary  farm  practice.  Often  such  costs  as 
land  rent  and  depreciation  of  machinery  are  omitted 
entirely.  Estimates  from  farmers  are  usually  unsatis- 
factory because  very  few  keep  accurate  accounts  of  the 
various  small  items.  Reports  from  farmers,  in  order  to 
be  reliable,  must  be  taken  systematically  and  carefully, 
and  the  number  of  farmers  interviewed  must  be  large  if 
error  is  to  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Except  for  general  study,  it  is  imperative  that  all  con- 
ditions be  given  in  order  that  a  true  interpretation  can 
be  made,  since  cost  of  labor,  nature  of  soil,  efficiency  in 
work,  thoroughness  of  method,  and  numerous  other 
factors  vary  so  much  that  general  estimates  are  of  little 
value.  Many  of  the  figures  available  are  for  only  one 
season,  and  it  is  well  known  that  costs  and  yields  vary 
greatly  with  the  year. 

COST  OF  GROWING  IN  VARIOUS  SECTIONS 

When  averages  of  a  large  number  of  growers  are  taken, 
the  cost  of  producing  beets  is  nearly  equal  to  the  price 
received  for  them,  all  factors  being  considered.  A  slight 
profit  would  be  expected  if  the  true  averages  were  available, 
because  in  general  the  farmers  of  the  older  beet-growing 
sections  consider  the  crop  worth  while.  The  profitable- 
ness of  a  crop  is  usually  indicated  by  the  readiness  with 
which  the  farmers  grow  it ;  and  farmers  are  usually  glad 
to  raise  beets. 

The  Federal  Trade  Commission  in  1917  made  a  "Re- 
port on  the  Beet  Sugar  Industry  in  the  United  States." 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets 


235 


This  study  covered  practically  every  beet-producing 
section  in  the  United  States.  Estimated  costs  were  ob- 
tained from  many  farmers  in  each  district.  These  are 
summarized  by  states  in  Fig.  28.  Since  the  data  were 
carefully  collected  and  compiled,  they  may  be  considered 


Jo**  !"*"!• 


FIG.  28.  —  Diagram  of  costs  involved  in  producing  sugar-beets  in 
various  states.  (Compiled  from  Report  of  the  Federal  Trade  Commis- 
sion, May  24,  1917.) 

to  be  approximately  correct  for  the  districts  and  for  the 
costs  during  that  year  (1913)  at  least.  The  figure  shows 
the  cost,  including  the  following  items :  soil  preparation, 
hand  labor,  planting  and  cultivating,  lifting  and  hauling, 
fertilizing,  seed,  and  irrigation;  but  it  omits  the  rental 
value  of  the  land  and  depreciation  of  machinery,  ditches, 
fences,  and  the  like.  The  item  of  land  rent  is  important 
in  considering  cost  of  production,  for  it  is  ordinarily  from 
one-sixth  to  one-fourth  of  the  value  of  the  crop.  That  the 


236  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

value  of  the  farms  studied  in  this  survey  were  above  the 
ordinary  beet  land  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  the  yields 
reported  average  in  the  neighborhood  of  one-third 
higher  than  the  yields  for  states  as  reported  from  other 
sources.1 

In  addition  to  the  rental  cost,  there  should  be  added 
from  3  to  10  per  cent  of  the  costs  mentioned  for  taxes, 
depreciation  on  machinery,  and  other  incidentals.  Then 
about  6  or  7  per  cent  of  the  cost  as  given  should  be  added 
to  account  for  crop  failures  or  acreages  not  harvested, 
if  the  true  cost  is  to  be  found.  Keeping  this  in  mind  when 
studying  the  gross  returns  from  the  crop  and  the  yield  to 
the  acre  represented  in  columns  two  and  three  of  the  chart, 
it  will  be  seen  that  beets  on  the  better  class  of  land  in 
most  of  the  states  yield  a  profit  under  normal  conditions. 
It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  true  net  returns  are  not 
so  great  as  one  is  sometimes  led  to  believe  from  incom- 
plete costs.  The  cost  data  are  not  complete  enough  to 
draw  satisfactory  conclusions,  because  we  do  not  know 
whether  the  land  represented  in  the  high-producing  states 
—  Utah,  Idaho,  California,  and  Colorado  —  was  on  the 
200-  to  300-dollar-an-acre  land  that  rents  for  fifteen  to 
twenty  dollars  an  acre  each  year,  or  whether  the  low- 
producing  states  represented  the  100-  to  200-dollar-an- 
acre  land  drawing  a  rent  of  six  to  ten  dollars  an  acre. 
But  it  appears  that  the  profit  to  the  acre  from  the  crop 
increases  rather  strikingly  as  the  yield  increases  above  a 
minimum  point.  The  larger  yields  in  the  West  permit 
more  care  to  be  given  economically  to  the  crop  as  the 
yield  increases;  or  rather,  the  high  wages  and  other 
1  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agri.  Yearbook  (1913),  p.  447. 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets  237 

costs  in  the  West  can  be  paid  because  the  yields  are  high 
enough  to  cover  them,  and  still  leave  a  profit. 

The  results  are  interesting  in  that  they  show  the  re- 
lation of  yield  to  the  various  factors  of  production  in  the 
different  localities,  although  it  should  be  remembered 
that  climatic  and  soil  factors  are  much  more  important 
in  determining  the  profitableness  of  beets  than  is  labor. 
The  cultural  practices,  except  special  operations  such  as 
irrigation,  are  thought,  on  an  average,  not  to  differ  so 
widely  in  the  different  states  as  do  wages.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  costs  of  hand  labor  and  lifting  and  hauling 
the  beets  vary  somewhat  according  to  yield  and  that  the 
greatest  variations  are  in  the  cost  of  lifting  and  hauling. 
Since  the  cost  of  harvesting  is  known  to  constitute  from 
one-fifth  to  one-third  of  the  total  cost  of  growing  beets, 
this  is  to  be  expected.  This  increases  somewhat  with 
the  yield. 

RELATION    OF    NUMBER    OF    ACRES    RAISED    TO    COST    AND 

PROFIT 

By  arranging  the  data  from  the  above  survey  in  Table 
XIII,  according  to  the  number  of  acres  of  beets  grown,  it 
is  found  that  the  acreage  of  beets  has  but  little  influence 
on  the  cost  of  production,  farms  with  only  a  few  acres  of 
beets  producing  them  as  economically  as  those  with  over 
a  hundred  acres.  Farm  surveys  in  general  show  that  the 
larger  farms  up  to  a  certain  point  are  the  more  efficient ; 
this  is  thought  to  hold  good  with  beet  farms  as  well  as 
others.  A  survey  in  Utah  indicated  that  the  proportion 
of  the  land  devoted  to  beets  increased  as  the  profitable- 


238 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


I  " 


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PH  (M 
OQ  « 


rf)     GO     ^ 

S9§ 

"OB 


w  -S 

i  is 

HH    O     « 

M  P  E 


S-  H  "O 
•  gi" 

^ft-<H 


iii 

S§3 


«•=• 

5    5 


••<     PQ 


cot>r>-cDrht>-cococOi— i 


I  388388^583558 

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S 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets 


239 


ness  of  the  farm  decreased,  but  the  acres  of  beets  grown 
increased  as  the  profitableness  of  the  farm  increases. 
Therefore,  the  only  conclusion  that  may  be  drawn  from 
these  data  is  that  both  good  and  poor  farmers  grow  large 
and  small  acreages  of  beets.  It  is  regretted  that  the  rental 
value  of  the  land  was  not  taken  in  the  survey,  because 
this,  it  is  thought,  would  modify  considerably  the  results 
on  this  point,  as  the  size  of  the  farms  varied  considerably 
in  the  different  districts  and  the  rental  value  would  have 
varied  in  the  same  way.  » 

Moorhouse  1  and  his  associates  in  the  Office  of  Farm 
Management,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
have  obtained  some  interesting  figures  on  the  relation  of 
acreage  and  yield  to  costs.  The  results  are  given  in 
Tables  XIV  and  XV. 

These  figures  show  that  in  each  of  the  areas  under  in- 
vestigation the  yield  to  the  acre  exerted  a  very  important 
influence  on  the  cost  of  producing  a  ton  of  beets. 

TABLE  XIV.  —  RELATION  OF  ACREAGE   AND  YIELD  PER  ACRE 
TO  COST  PER  ACRE  AND  PER  TON.     UTAH  AND  IDAHO 


10  TONS  OR  LESS 

11  TO  15  TONS 

16  TONS  AND  OVER 

«| 

Per 

Per 

o§ 

Per 

Per 

'o  | 

Per 

Per 

6*1 

Acre 

Ton 

rfj 

Acre 

Ton 

rfj 

Acre 

Ton 

fc£ 

fcfe 

£fe 

10  acres  or  less 

12 

$62.59 

$8.65 

17 

$72.47 

$5.53 

29 

$75.70 

$4.12 

11  to  20  acres     . 

14 

59.04 

6.69 

24 

66.87 

5.01 

32 

71.81 

3.93 

21  acres  and  over 

8 

60.20 

6.22 

18 

64.70 

4.85 

19 

70.19 

4.02 

1  Correspondence  with  the  author.     Also  see  U.  S.  Dept.  of 
Agr.,  Bui.  No.  693  for  additional  figures, 


240 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


TABLE  XV.  —  RELATION  OF  ACREAGE   AND  YIELD  PER  ACRE 
TO  COST  PER  ACRE  AND  PER  TON.  COLORADO 


10  TONS  OR  LESS 

11  TO  15  TONS 

16  TONS  AND  OVER 

»l 

Per 

Per 

,1 

Per 

Per 

"o  g 

Per 

Per 

II 

Acre 

Ton 

II 

Acre 

Ton 

ll 

Acre 

Ton 

10  acres  or  less 

12 

$72.31 

$7.72 

23 

$71.90 

$5.64 

24 

$83.22 

$4.87 

11  to  20  acres     . 

10 

62.38 

7.92 

46 

66.77 

4.99 

40 

78.25 

4.42 

21  to  40  acres     . 

21 

57.35 

6.30 

80 

65.78 

4.99 

56 

75.09 

4.21 

41  acres  and  over 

1 

49.85 

4.92 

33 

63.86 

4.68 

21 

75.82 

4.43 

The  relation  between  size  of  farm,  area  of  beets  planted, 
and  labor  income  on  276  Utah  farms  is  shown  in  Table 
XVI.  The  table  shows  that  the  labor  income  of  farmers 
raising  sugar-beets  is  higher  than  that  of  farmers  not 
raising  them.  This  is  probably  due  as  much  to  secondary 
profits,  discussed  in  Chapter  XII,  as  to  direct  returns 
from  beets.  On  the  average  the  yield  was  slightly  higher 
on  the  medium-sized  farms  than  on  the  very  large  or  the 
very  small  ones. 


COST  BASED   ON  TIME 

Because  the  prices  paid  for  labor  vary  so  much  in  dif- 
ferent regions,  it  is  impossible  to  give  money  costs  that 
apply  to  all  conditions.  The  length  of  time  required  in 
performing  the  various  operations  should  be  approxi- 
mately the  same.  This  offers  a  means  of  securing  definite 
figures  which  may  be  computed  for  each  region  by  using 
the  price  of  man  and  horse  labor  that  prevails. 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets 


241 


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242 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


Peck,1  in  Minnesota,  has  made  a  rather  careful  study  of 
the  cost  of  producing  beets  in  that  state,  which  unfortu- 
nately does  not  represent  an  important  beet-producing 
area.  Figs.  29,  30.  Table  XVII,  taken  from  his  work, 
gives  the  total  man  hours  to  produce  an  acre  of  beets 
as  155.4  and  the  horse  hours  as  110.7.  The  time  spent 
on  the  various  operations  is  also  shown : 


TABLE  XVII.  —  LABOR  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  PRODUCING  SUGAR- 
BEETS  2 


TOTAL 

HOURS  P 

ER  ACRE 

ACRES 

Man 

Horse 

833.9 

9.9 

21.7 

Plowing    

1426.0 

4.4 

13.1 

Disking    

1134.0 

2.3 

8.2 

1451.4 

1.1 

2.9 

Planking  

559.5 

.9 

2.1 

Seeding               .... 

1458.4 

1.3 

2.6 

1447.4 

11.1 

17.2 

Bunching  and  thinning 
Hoeing 

462.1 

44.2 
21  0 

Pulling  and  topping   .     . 
Lifting 

1458.4 

37.8 
3.5 

6.7 

Hauling    

1458.4 

17.9 

36.2 

Total     

155.4 

110.7 

1  Peck,  F.  W.,  "The  Cost  of  Producing  Sugar  Beets,"  Minn. 
Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  154  (1916). 

2  Not  contract  labor.     On  an  average  the  land  was  disked 
2.4  times ;  harrowed,  2.3  times ;  cultivated,  5.2  times ;  and  hoed, 
1.4  times. 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets 


243 


Mendelson 1  reports  as  follows  results  of  a  hearing 
before  the  United  States  Food  Administration  at  Fort 
Morgan,  Colorado,  in  1918,  on  the  work  required  in 
raising  sugar-beets : 


FIG.  29.  —  Man  labor  on  sugar-beets.     (F.  W.  Peck.) 

"Spreading  manure.  Two  men,  four  horses,  and 
spreader  will  spread  20  beet  boxes  of  manure  on  two 
acres  in  one  day. 

"Crowning  alfalfa  (once  in  4  years).  One  man  and 
five  horses  will  crown  three  and  one-half  acres  per  day. 

"Harrowing  the  crowning  twice  (once  in  4  years).  One 
man  and  three  horses  will  harrow  twenty  acres  per  day. 

"Floating  the  crowning  (once  in  4  years).  One  man 
and  four  horses  will  float  15  acres  per  day. 


1  Mendelson,  H., 
(April,  1918). 


A  Day's  Work,':  Sugar,  Vol.  20,  p.  140 


244  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

"Plowing.  One  man  and  five  horses  will  plow  two 
acres  per  day. 

"Harrowing.  One  man  and  three  horses  will  harrow 
sixteen  acres  per  day. 

"Floating.  One  man  and  four  horses  will  float  10  acres 
per  day. 


FIG.  30.  —  Distribution  of  cost  of  sugar-beet  production.     (F.  W.  Peck.) 

"Planting.  One  man  and  two  horses  will  plant  nine 
acres  per  day. 

"Rolling.  One  man  and  two  horses  will  roll  14  acres 
per  day. 

"Cultivating.  One  man  and  two  horses  will  cultivate 
eight  acres  per  day. 

"Furrowing.  One  man  and  two  horses  will  furrow  15 
acres  per  day. 

"Irrigating.  One  man  in  twenty-four  hours  will  irri- 
gate eight  acres. 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets 


245 


"  Plowing  out.  One  man  and  four  horses  will  plow  out 
2^  acres  per  day. 

"Hauling.  One  man  and  four  horses  will  haul  twelve 
tons  per  day. 

"According  to  this  schedule,  the  number  of  man  and 
horse  hours  required  per  acre  of  beets  for  work  done  every 
year  is  as  follows : 


HOURS  P 

ER  ACRE 

: 

Men 

Horses 

Spreading  manure 

100 

200 

Plowing      

5.0 

25.0 

Harrowing  three  times      .     .     . 
Floating  two  times  

1.9 
2.0 
1.1 

5.7 
8.0 
2.21 

Rolling 

07 

1  4 

Cultivating  four  times      .     .     . 

5.0 
0.7 

10.0 
1.4 

Irrigating  2£  times  
Plowing  out    

7.5 
4.4 

17.6 

Hauling  (12  tons) 

100 

400 

Total 

483 

131  3 

"In  addition  to  this  in  the  above  schedule,  it  is  calcu- 
lated that  alfalfa  is  broken  every  fourth  year,  and  that, 
therefore,  one-fourth  of  the  time  required  to  break  an 
acre  of  alfalfa  should  be  charged  against  every  year's 
beet  crop. 

"The  total  work  required  to  break  an  acre  of  alfalfa, 
according  to  this  schedule,  is  as  follows : 


246 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


MEN  HOUBS 

HOUSE  HOURS 

Crowning  

2.9 

145 

1  0 

30 

Floating  once      

0.7 

2.8 

Total  

4.6 

20  3 

"One-fourth  of  this  is,  1.2  men  hours  and  5.1  horse 
hours.  This  added  to  the  regular  work  gives  49.5  men 
hours  and  136.3  horse  hours. 

"This  means  that  on  a  25-acre  patch  of  beets  you  will 
have  to  spend  1207.5  hours  of  work,  or  120.75  working 
days  of  10  hours,  during  a  growing  season  for  this  work, 
and  your  horses  will  have  performed  3410  hours,  or  341 
days  of  10  hours  each,  or  if  you  have  6  horses,  each  horse 
has  averaged  57  days'  work  during  the  growing  season 
on  25  acres  of  beets." 

L.  A.  Moorhouse 1  found  the  following  for  man  and  horse 
labor  in  producing  one  acre  of  beets : 

TABLE  XVIII.  —  INFORMATION  PERTAINING  TO  PRACTICE   AND 
COST  OP  PRODUCTION  OF  SUGAR-BEETS.     (1914-1915) 


ITEM 

PROVO  DIS- 
TRICT, UTAH 

'GARLAND  DIS- 
TRICT, UTAH 

IDAHO  FALLS 
DISTRICT, 
IDAHO 

No.  of  operators  reporting 

58 

79 

36 

No.  of  acres  grown      .     . 

833 

1461 

735 

Yield  to  the  acre     .     .     . 

14.9  tons 

14.8  tons 

13.6  tons 

Hours  of  man  labor     .     . 

130.8 

133.3 

119.4 

Hours  of  horse  labor   .     . 

117.1 

98.5 

79.3 

1  Correspondence  with  the  author. 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets  247 

Commenting  on  this,  Moorhouse  says  :  "  Labor  was  by 
far  the  most  important  item  in  this  study.  The  total 
labor  cost  under  the  rates  that  prevailed  in  1914-1915 
varied  from  $35.25  an  acre  to  $40.18.  These  sums  con- 
stituted from  54.4  to  58.3  per  cent  of  the  total  cost  of 
production." 

Although  the  different  figures  given  above  do  not  agree 
entirely,  they  are  all  suggestive  and  will  be  of  assistance 
to  any  one  who  wishes  to  compute  costs  for  his  own  neigh- 
borhood. 

The  beet  farmers  and  sugar  companies  of  Utah  and 
Idaho  agreed  on  the  following  schedule  for  contract  hand 
labor  for  each  acre  during  1918:  Thinning,  $8;  first 
hoeing,  $3 ;  second  hoeing,  $2,  —  or  $26  for  all  hand 
labor  based  on  a  twelve-ton  crop  with  one  dollar  extra 
for  each  additional  ton  and  seventy-five  cents  less  for 
each  ton  decrease  in  yield. 

EXAMPLES  OF  ACRE-COST 

Blakey  l  has  made  rather  extensive  investigations  of 
the  cost  of  producing  sugar  based  on^  reports  of  farmers, 
actual  field  tests,  and  work  of  the  experiment  stations. 
His  findings  are  summed  up  in  Table  XIX.  In  the  table 
he  does  not  include  the  cost  of  land,  rent,  taxes,  and  the 
like,  which  would  probably  be  between  $15  and  $20, 
making  the  total  cost  about  $75.  The  figures  are  fairly 
accurate  for  the  dates  represented,  but  they  are  doubt- 
less too  low  for  war-time  prices  of  labor  and  materials. 

1  Blakey,  R.  G.,  "The  United  States  Beet-Sugar  Industry  and 
the  Tariff"  (1912),  pp.  113-140  and  pp.  267-273. 


248 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


TABLE  XIX.  —  COSTS  OP  GROWING  BEETS,  ACTUAL  AND  ESTI- 
MATED (BLAKEY) 


1905-1906 
ACTUAL  CROPS 
3-YEAR  AVER- 
AGE (COLO- 
RADO) 

ESTIMATED 
NORMAL  AVER- 
AGE AFTER 

THIS 
EXPERIENCE 

Labor  costs 
Plowing  and  preparation  for  same  . 
Harrowing  leveling  etc     .... 

$  4.06 
275 

$  4.00 
250 

Seeding        

57 

45 

3.64 

3.25 

Irrigating 

242 

225 

SDraviner 

22 

7.42 

7.25 

Hoeing                   .                    ... 

296 

285 

ToDDiner 

870 

800 

Pulling    . 

2.16 

2.00 

Hauling        

841 

750 

Siloing     

1.15 

1.00 

Other  costs 
Seed   

1.87 

1.85 

Dump 

.77 

.75 

Blacksmithing  and  repairs      .     .     . 

1.15 
.39 

1.00 
.50 

.     Implement  depreciation  (estimated) 
Interest,     crop     investment     (esti- 
mated)      

2.56 
1.33 

2.00 
1.30 

Subtotals                 .     . 

(52  53) 

(48  45) 

Water  rates      

1  40 

1.40 

Management  and  supervision  (esti- 
mated)                         . 

3  19 

250 

Totals1     

$57.12 

$52.35 

Rpiyfj  ryn   land     tRYP^!     ptp 

1  Does  not  include  rent,  interest  on  money  invested  in  land, 
or  taxes.  However,  this  expenditure  would  produce  more  than 
the  present  normal  yield  for  the  country. 


Cost  of  Producing  Beets  249 

In  many  districts  farmers  maintain  that  the  cost  of 
producing  an  acre  of  beets  is  over  $100.  This  is  prob- 
ably much  more  than  the  farmer  ordinarily  spends,  and 
includes  every  expenditure  that  would  be  made  in  pro- 
ducing a  maximum  crop.  The  farmer  does  not  of  course 
commonly  go  to  this  amount  of  trouble  and  expense ;  he 
is  usually  satisfied  to  do  a  moderate  amount  of  work  and 
to  secure  an  acre-yield  somewhere  near  the  average. 

No  accurate  figures  have  been  compiled  for  the  cost  of 
producing  a  ton  of  beets  or  for  producing  the  beets  neces- 
sary to  make  one  hundred  pounds  of  sugar.  This  phase 
of  the  cost  of  beet  production  deserves  more  attention  on 
the  part  of  students  of  beet-sugar  economics. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
BEET  RAISING  AND   COMMUNITY    WELFARE 

IN  considering  the  value  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  to 
the  community,  the  indirect  benefits  of  raising  beets,  as 
well  as  the  direct  value  of  the  crop,  should  be  considered. 
Those  who  have  made  a  careful  study  of  the  subject  are 
agreed  that  the  introduction  of  sugar-beets  into  the 
agriculture  of  a  region  results  in  good  in  many  ways. 
In  the  European  countries  where  beet  raising  has  seen 
its  greatest  development,  agriculture  has  a  stability  not 
found  in  the  newer  countries  where  sugar-beets  have  not 
been  introduced. 

Palmer  l  says :  "  For  fifteen  years  I  have  made  a  per- 
sonal study  of  the  sugar  industry  in  the  United  States, 
Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  Russia,  France,  Belgium, 
Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  some  portions  of  the 
tropics.  In  the  above  named  countries  of  Europe,  I 
have  met  or  studied  the  writings  of  their  leading  agricul- 
turists, economists,  and  other  thinking  men,  and  without 
exception  they  state  that  the  culture  of  sugar-beets 
raises  the  standard  of  their  agricultural  methods  as  does 
no  other  crop,  rids  their  fields  of  noxious  growth,  puts 

1  Palmer,  Truman  G.,  Journal  of  the  National  Institute  of 
Social  Sciences,  July,  1916. 

250 


Beet  Raising  and  Community  Welfare  251 

their  soil  in  better  condition,  increases  by  25  to  80  per 
cent  the  acreage  yield  of  all  other  crops  grown  in  rota- 
tion, and  annually  saves  them  from  sending  several  hun- 
dred million  dollars  to  the  tropics  to  purchase  a  neces- 
sary food  commodity.  In  no  beet  country  visited  was 
there  found  a  disposition  to  regret  its  establishment  or 
the  money  it  cost  to  establish  it.  Germany  alone  spent 
over  $351,000,000  in  export  bounties  in  order  to  encourage 
the  industry." 


STABILITY  TO  AGRICULTURE 

Wherever  the  beet-sugar  industry  is  permanently  es- 
tablished, agriculture  reaches  a  greater  stability  than  it 
had  previously.  The  fact  that  the  farmer  has  a  sure 
market  for  his  crop  at  a  price  known  in  advance  enables 
him  to  judge  more  accurately  the  value  of  the  land.  Ex- 
perience shows  the  approximate  yield  of  beets  he  may 
expect;  and  since  he  knows  the  costs  of  producing  the 
crop  and  the  returns  he  is  likely  to  receive  from  it,  he  Is 
able  to  calculate  rather  accurately  how  much  he  can  af- 
ford to  pay  for  beet  land  of  known  quality.  This  re- 
duces the  rapid  fluctuation  in  the  price  of  land  that  is 
often  met  in  regions  where  profits  are  less  certain. 

In  areas  where  crops  have  no  regular  cash  market,  it 
is  difficult  to  obtain  stability  to  the  agriculture.  Many 
fruit-producing  sections  boom  during  years  of  good  market, 
and  land  prices  become  greatly  inflated.  This  condition 
may  be  followed  by  a  series  of  years  when  no  market  can 
be  secured  or  when  the  crop  is  a  failure  due  to  frost  or 
some  other  unfavorable  condition.  The  result  is  that 


252  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

many  farmers  fail  and  have  to  sell  the  farm  at  a  loss  and 
seek  employment  elsewhere.  Farming  under  these  up- 
and-down  conditions  is  not  satisfactory.  The  introduc- 
tion of  beet  raising  into  the  farming  system  tends  to  over- 
come this  variation.  Fruit  raising  may  yield  higher 
profits  during  favorable  years,  but  the  uncertainty  of  its 
returns  is  not  attractive  to  the  conservative  farmer  and, 
therefore,  not  conducive  to  permanent  agriculture. 

PROMOTES   GOOD  FARMING 

The  raising  of  sugar-beets  is  not  consistent  with  poor 
farming.  Rye  may  be  raised  on  land  that  is  merely 
scratched ;  it  needs  but  little  attention  in  addition  to  the 
work  of  planting  and  harvesting.  Sugar-beets,  on  the 
other  hand,  cannot  be  raised  without  careful  attention 
being  given  to  every  operation,  from  plowing  to  the  de- 
livery of  the  crop  at  the  factory.  The  expense  of  pro- 
ducing the  crop  is  so  great  that  the  farmer  cannot  afford 
to  neglect  any  phase  of  the  work;  carelessness  in  thin- 
ning may  reduce  the  returns  by  several  times  the  amount 
of  the  cost  of  thinning.  The  farmer  cannot  afford  to 
allow  weeds  to  grow,  since  these  pests  reduce  the  yield 
not  only  by  using  moisture  and  plant-food  needed  by  the 
crop,  but  they  cause  a  decrease  in  sugar  formation  by 
shading  the  beet  leaves.  In  a  cheaper  crop,  the  cost  of 
keeping  weeds  under  complete  control  might  not  justify 
the  expense;  but  in  beet  fields  weeds  cause  greater  in- 
jury than  the  expense  of  removing  them.  Thus,  in 
every  phase  of  sugar-beet  farming,  thoroughness  is  de- 
manded. This  is  certain  to  reflect  in  the  raising  of  other 


Beet  Raising  and  Community  Welfare          253 

crops  and  to  cause  a  general  improvement  in  the  agricul- 
ture of  the  section. 


INCREASES  CROP  YIELDS 

Statistics  l  show  an  increase  in  the  yield  of  crops  in 
every  country  where  the  raising  of  sugar-beets  has  been 
introduced.  This  is  not  due  to  any  plant-food  added  to 
the  soil  by  the  beet  plant,  for  it  adds  none,  but  is  the  re- 
sult of  the  good  tillage  methods  necessary  to  successful 
beet-culture.  The  fleshy  tap-root  of  the  beet  penetrates 
deeply  into  the  soil,  which  it  loosens  and  allows  to  be- 
come thoroughly  aerated.  Any  tendency  to  the  formation 
of  a  "plow  sole"  is  overcome,  and  there  is  a  thorough 
mixing  of  the  soil  and  the  upper  subsoil. 

Beets  require  deep  plowing  in  preparation  for  the  crop ; 
they  are  given  constant  cultivation  during  the  growing 
period ;  and  at  harvest  tune  the  land  is  stirred  deeply  in 
removing  the  beets.  This  cultivation  is  paid  for  by  the 
beet  crop,  but  it  also  improves  the  condition  of  the  soil 
for  the  crop  that  follows  to  such  a  marked  degree  that  the 
yield  is  decidedly  increased. 

Pure  sugar  takes  no  fertility  from  the  land ;  conse- 
quently, if  all  of  the  by-products  of  the  beet-sugar  indus- 
try are  returned  to  the  land,  its  fertility  can  be  maintained 
readily.  With  most  other  crops,  the  marketable  part 
contains  large  quantities  of  the  mineral  plant-foods.  Of 

1  A  great  many  figures  on  this  subject  have  been  compiled  by 
Truman  G.  Palmer  and  published  in  his  pamphlet  entitled 
"  Sugar  at  a  Glance  "  —  U.  S.  Senate  Document  No.  890,  62d 
Congress  (1912). 


254  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

course,  it  is  not  practical  to  return  all  by-products  to  the 
land,  but  with  care  the  greater  part  may  be  conserved. 
The  increased  yield  in  crops  brought  about  by  beet 
raising  is  due  in  part  to  the  better  farming  methods  dis- 
cussed in  the  previous  section. 

In  order  to  realize  the  full  value  of  sugar-beets  in  in- 
creasing crop  yields,  it  is  necessary  to  have  well-planned 
rotations  supplemented  by  an  economical  use  of  farm 
manure  or  other  fertilizing  materials.  The  high  yields  of 
European  countries  would  not  be  possible  without  scien- 
tific rotations  and  the  extensive  use  of  manures. 


EDUCATIONAL  VALUE 

The  beet-sugar  industry  is  based  on  technical  skill. 
The  breeding  of  strains  of  beets  high  in  sugar  calls  for 
special  training  in  the  principles  of  breeding.  Many 
chemists  are  needed  to  analyze  the  mother  beets  and  special 
skill  is  required  in  the  field  work.  In  the  making  of  sugar 
from  beets,  engineers,  chemists,  and  other  technically 
trained  men  are  required.  This  means  that  any  com- 
munity having  a  beet-sugar  factory  must  have  trained 
men  to  carry  on  the  industry.  This  necessity  so  promotes 
education  that  sugar-beet  production  has  a  direct  educa- 
tional value  to  any  community. 

Farmers  take  up  better  business  methods,  being  en- 
couraged to  keep  records  by  cost  of  labor,  cash  product, 
contract  crop,  and  contract  labor,  also  because  of  its  being 
one  of  two  or  three  general  crops  that  can  pay  on  high- 
priced  land. 


Beet  Raising  and  Community  Welfare  255 

EMPLOYMENT  FOR  CHILDREN 

In  raising  sugar-beets,  considerable  hand  labor  is  re- 
quired. Much  of  this  work  can  be  done  well  by  children ; 
in  fact,  children  often  can  thin  beets  better  and  more 
rapidly  than  their  parents.  They  can  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage also  in  weeding  and  in  topping.  This  means  that 
in  regions  where  sugar-beets  are  raised,  children  who  go  to 
school  during  the  winter  can  earn  good  wages  in  vacation 
times. 

In  many  irrigated  districts  of  the  West,  where  most  of 
the  sugar-beets  of  America  are  produced,  persons  live  in 
towns  and  not  on  their  farms.  These  towns  provide  many 
children  who  have  no  regular  employment  in  the  summer. 
These  small  communities  lack  the  industries  found  in 
the  large  cities.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  do  not  have 
land  of  their  own ;  as  a  result,  their  children  are  idle  when 
not  in  school.  If  the  farms  of  the  region  produce  only 
hay  and  grain,  no  work  is  available  for  children ;  but  when 
sugar-beets  are  added,  these  young  persons  find  healthful 
and  paying  employment  instead  of  spending  the  summer 
on  the  streets.  In  this,  as  in  other  work  for  children, 
care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  the  evils  of  child  labor. 

WINTER  EMPLOYMENT 

In  all  the  farming  communities  work  is  more  pressing 
in  the  summer  than  in  the  winter.  In  order  to  have  suf- 
ficient help  to  care  for  crops  during  the  busy  season, 
there  is  an  excess  at  other  times.  This  means  that  or- 
dinarily some  of  the  hands  are  idle  and  that  winter  wages 
are  low. 


256  The  Sugar- Beet  in  America 

If  there  is  a  sugar  factory  in  the  community,  it  uses  a 
great  number  of  men  in  the  winter  and  the  congestion  is 
relieved.  Those  who  would  otherwise  be  idle  are  given 
employment  and  the  entire  winter  wage  scale  for  the  com- 
munity is  advanced. 

CENTRALIZED  POPULATION 

Sugar-beet  raising  calls  for  intensive  farming.  A  given 
area  of  land  producing  beets  will  give  employment  to 
several  times  as  many  men  as  the  same  area  devoted  to 
hay  or  grain.  With  sugar-beets  as  an  important  crop, 
the  farmer  does  not  require  so  large  an  acreage  in  order  to 
make  a  living  as  would  be  necessary  with  many  other 
crops.  This  means  that  sugar-beet  farming  promotes  a 
denser  population.  This  has  many  advantages.  It 
makes  possible  better  educational  facilities  and  more 
desirable  social  opportunities,  thereby  reducing  to  a 
minimum  some  of  the  chief  disadvantages  of  farm  life. 

i 

INCREASES  OTHER  BUSINESS 

The  raising  of  sugar-beets  and  the  manufacture  of 
sugar  from  them  bring  increased  business  to  many  other 
industries  not  directly  connected  with  the  farmer  or  the 
sugar  factory.  Thus,  every  community  in  which  the 
beet-sugar  industry  is  established  has  the  pulse  of  its  en- 
tire business  quickened  thereby.  Railroads  receive  much 
traffic  in  transporting  beets,  lime,  sugar,  machinery,  and 
the  many  other  commodities  that  are  incidental  to  sugar- 
making.  Bank  clearings  are  increased  by  the  money 
paid  for  beets  and  supplies  and  that  received  for  sugar. 


Beet  Raising  and  Community  Welfare  257 

The  live-stock  business  is  advanced  by  the  cheap  feeds 
resulting  as  by-products  of  beet  raising  and  sugar-making. 
Several  secondary  manufacturing  industries  also  grow  out 
of  the  use  of  sugar-house  products.  All  business  is  en- 
hanced by  the  presence  of  a  sugar  factory. 


NATIONAL  INDEPENDENCE 

Perhaps  the  most  important  contribution  of  the  beet- 
sugar  industry  to  community  welfare  comes  in  the  greater 
degree  of  national  independence  that  it  insures.  In 
modern  days,  sugar  has  come  to  be  a  food  necessity.  Its 
high  food  value,  its  palatability,  and  the  ease  with  which  it 
fits  into  the  human  ration  make  it  almost  indispensable. 
The  European  war  taught  us  much  concerning  the  hard- 
ship that  may  result  from  a  shortage  of  sugar. 

Any  nation  that  finds  itself  dependent  on  some  other 
nation  for  so  important  a  commodity  as  sugar  cannot 
boast  that  it  is  really  independent.  In  time  of  war  when 
an  old  supply  is  likely  to  be  shut  off,  the  nation  that  does 
not  produce  its  own  sugar  may  find  itself  seriously  handi- 
capped. The  beet-sugar  industry  owes  its  origin  to  just 
such  a  condition.  Later  international  troubles  have  shown 
that  preparation  for  an  emergency  of  this  kind  must  be  made 
in  times  of  peace ;  it  is  too  late  after  fighting  has  begun. 

It  now  seems  evident  that,  aside  from  other  consider- 
ations, the  American  beet-sugar  industry  should  be  en- 
larged as  a  matter  of  national  preparedness.  The  Amer- 
ican people  cannot  afford  to  place  themselves  at  the  mercy 
of  a  possible  enemy  by  not  having  at  home  a  source  of 
sugar  sufficient  to  meet  their  needs  in  times  of  war. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
SUGAR-MAKING 

THE  processes  involved  in  the  manufacture  of  beet- 
sugar  have  undergone  a  great  change  in  a  little  more  than 
a  hundred  years  since  the  industry  was  first  established. 
At  first  it  was  difficult  to  secure  a  good  product  and  only 
a  small  percentage  of  the  sugar  in  the  beet  could  be  re- 
covered as  refined  sugar.  Improvement  in  manufactur- 
ing processes  has  gone  hand  in  hand  with  the  breeding  of 
a  higher  grade  of  beets  in  making  possible  the  extension 
of  the  beet-sugar  industry.  The  making  of  beet-sugar 
involves  a  number  of  rather  complex  problems  in  physics, 
chemistry,  and  engineering;  and  since  it  is  beyond  the 
scope  of  this  book  to  go  thoroughly  into  these  technical 
questions,  only  a  brief  description  of  the  process  of  sugar- 
making  will  be  given.  The  following  well-defined  stages 
are  involved  in  the  process :  (1)  storing  and  cleaning  of 
beets,  (2)  extraction  of  juice,  (3)  purification  of  juice, 
(4)  formation  of  grain,  (5)  partial  drying,  (6)  final  drying, 
and  (7)  packing  the  sugar. 

STORING  THE  BEETS 

After  the  beets  are  received  by  the  sugar  company,  it 
is  often  necessary  to  store  them  for  some  time  before  they 

258 


Sugar-Making 


are  sliced.  If  this  is 
done  at  the  factory, 
bins  are  usually  avail- 
able. These  are  so 
arranged  that  the 
beets  can  be  worked 
with  the  least  amount 
of  handling.  Where 
cars  are  not  available 
for  immediate  trans- 
portation, the  beets 
must  be  stored  in 
the  districts  where 
they  are  raised.  This 
is  usually  done  in 
large  piles  near  the 
weighing  station  and 
dump. 

The  loss  during 
storage  is  due  to  res- 
piration, which  is 
greatly  increased  as 
the  temperature  rises. 
This  means  that  in 
sections  where  the 
temperature  is  high 
at  harvest  tune,  the 
beets  must  be  sliced 
within  a  few  days 
after  they  are  dug. 
In  sections  where 


260  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

the  temperature  is  cool  at  the  time  of  harvest  and  where 
severe  cold  is  not  experienced,  large  uncovered  heaps  are 
to  be  preferred  to  all  other  methods  of  storage,  since 
little  expense  is  involved  and  the  loss  of  sugar  is  slight. 
Beets  are  not  injured  by  temperatures  slightly  below 
freezing  when  they  thaw  out  slowly ;  consequently,  only 
those  lying  on  the  very  outside  of  the  heap  will  be  injured 
by  frost.  A  light  frost  will  result  in  no  injury  whatever. 
Care  must  be  taken  to  see  that  these  heaps  do  not 
begin  to  heat.  If  heating  begins,  the  pile  must  be  opened 
and  the  decaying  beets  removed. 

Beets  stored  at  the  factory  are  placed  in  V-shaped  bins, 
the  bottom  of  which  is  a  flume  covered  with  removable 
boards.  By  taking  out  these  boards  one  at  a  time,  the 
beets  drop  into  a  swift  stream  of  water  and  are  carried 
to  the  factory. 

WASHING  AND  WEIGHING 

The  first  step  in  preparing  the  beets  for  the  factory  is 
to  remove  rocks,  sand,  weeds,  and  other  foreign  material 
that  might  interfere  with  slicing.  This  foreign  material 
is  removed  by  a  set  of  special  devices  shown  in  Fig.  31, 
after  which  the  beets  are  carried  up  to  the  washer.  The 
mechanical  washer  consists  of  a  tank  in  which  arms  keep 
up  an  agitation  in  such  a  way  that  all  dirt  not  removed 
while  the  beets  were  being  carried  by  the  stream  of  water 
into  the  factory  is  washed  off.  The  beets  after  being 
thoroughly  cleaned  are  elevated  to  a  scale  which  weighs 
and  records  automatically.  They  are  now  ready  to  be 
sliced. 


PLATE  XXVII.  —  Above,  view  of  top  of  diffusion  battery;  below,  car- 
bonation  and  sulfur  tanks  where  the  warm  raw  juice  is  purified.  (Cour- 
tesy Truman  G.  Palmer.) 


Sugar-Making  261 

SLICING  AND  EXTRACTION 

The  chief  object  sought  in  slicing  is  to  obtain  as  large 
a  surface  as  possible  and  at  the  same  time  to  leave  the 
pieces  of  beet  in  such  a  condition  that  they  will  not  pack 
into  a  mass  through  which  water  will  not  pass  readily. 
Many  kinds  of  slicing  knives  are  used,  but  all  cut  the 
beets  into  long  thin  strips  called  "cossettes."  These  are 
so  thin  that  the  sugar  contained  in  the  cells  of  the  root 
can  readily  diffuse  out  into  the  water  with  which  the  cos- 
settes are  treated  in  the  diffusion  batteries.  The  cor- 
rugated slicing  knives  revolve  rapidly  and  are  able  to 
handle  large  quantities  of  beets. 

The  cossettes  pass  from  the  knives  to  the  cells  of  the 
diffusion  battery,  shown  in  Plate  XXVII.  These  are  large 
iron  containers,  cylindrical  in  shape,  and  terminating  in 
truncated  cones  having  covers;  they  are  arranged  in  a 
circle  or  in  a  straight  line.  The  series  usually  contains 
from  ten  to  fourteen  of  these  tanks.  Each  is  so  con- 
nected at  the  bottom  by  means  of  a  pipe  with  the  top 
of  the  next  in  the  series  that  a  continual  flow  of  warm 
water  passes  through  the  cossettes  as  long  as  they  remain 
in  the  battery.  The  batteries  are  so  arranged  that  the 
container  which  has  had  its  charge  for  the  longest  time 
receives  the  fresh  water,  which  removes  the  last  bit  of 
sugar  that  can  be  extracted.  The  pulp  from  which  the 
sugar  has  been  removed  is  dumped  out  and  the  tank  is 
again  filled  with  fresh  slices.  This  tank  then  becomes  the 
last  in  the  series  and  receives  the  water  laden  with  juice 
after  it  has  passed  through  all  the  other  cells  of  the  bat- 
tery. 


262  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

The  pulp  is  carried  off  in  a  stream  of  water  to  a  silo, 
where  it  is  held  till  it  is  dried  or  hauled  away  to  be  fed 
to  stock.  Plate  XIX.  Methods  of  handling  the  pulp 
are  discussed  in  detail  in  Chapter  XII.  The  juice,  con- 
taining the  sugar,  on  coming  from  the  batteries  is  dark  in 
color,  and,  in  addition  to  the  sugar,  contains  many  impuri- 
ties which  must  be  removed  before  the  sugar  can  be  made 
to  crystallize  out.  Up  to  this  point,  the  method  of  mak- 
ing beet-sugar  differs  completely  from  that  used  for  cane- 
sugar;  beet  juice  is  obtained  by  diffusion,  whereas  the 
cane  juice  is  removed  by  crushing. 

PURIFICATION   OF  THE  JtJICE 

After  the  juice  is  measured,  it  passes  to  the  carbonation 
tanks  (Plate  XXVII)  where  purification  begins.  Here  it  is 
treated  with  3  to  4  per  cent  of  caustic  lime  in  the  form  of 
thick  milk.  After  thorough  agitation,  the  excess  lime  is 
precipitated  with  carbon  dioxid  from  the  lime  kiln.  The 
addition  of  lime  is  considered  the  most  important  opera- 
tion in  the  sugar  mill,  and  unless  properly  done  the 
final  product  is  affected  both  in  color  and  amount.  The 
effect  of  lime  on  the  juice  is  both  chemical  and  mechanical. 
The  lime  unites  chemically  with  a  number  of  substances 
that  later  interfere  with  the  manufacturing  process,  and 
it  causes  many  of  the  solids  held  in  suspension  to  settle  to 
the  bottom,  leaving  a  clear  liquid  of  light  amber  color. 

When  the  proper  condition  in  the  juice  is  obtained,  it  is 
passed  through  filter  presses,  shown  in  Plate  XXVIII,  to 
remove  the  precipitated  lime  and  other  solid  matter. 
These  solid  materials  are  retained  in  the  frame  of  the 


PLATE  XXVIII.  —  Above,  filter  presses  made  of  iron  frames  covered 
with  cloth  through  which  juice  filters  as  a  clear  liquid ;  below,  vacuum 
pans  where  the  juice  is  concentrated  and  the  grains  formed.  (Courtesy 
Truman  G.  Palmer.) 


Sugar-Making  263 

presses.  As  soon  as  the  frame  is  full,  the  lime  cake  is 
washed  by  passing  water  through  it  till  the  sugar-content 
of  the  cake  has  been  sufficiently  reduced.  The  press  is 
then  opened  and  the  cake  removed  and  disposed  of  in  the 
manner  discussed  in  Chapter  XII.  A  second  filtration 
is  usually  practiced  in  order  to  remove  any  solids  that 
may  have  gone  through  the  first  time.  Later,  the  juice 
is  again  treated  with  a  little  lime  and  with  carbon 
dioxid  to  reduce  further  the  impurities,  after  which  it 
receives  the  third  filtering. 

In  most  sugar  houses,  the  juice  is  treated  with  sulfur 
fumes  before  it  is  concentrated,  although  sometimes  con- 
centration precedes  this  process.  The  object  of  treating 
with  sulfur  is  to  reduce  the  alkalinity  caused  by  the  lime, 
and  to  remove  additional  impurities.  The  sulfur  also  has 
a  bleaching  action,  removing  color  from  the  liquid  that 
might  be  carried  on  to  the  sugar.  The  sulfur  fumes  are 
obtained  by  passing  air  over  burning  sulfur  which  yields 
sulfurous  acid.  After  being  sulfured,  the  juice  is  passed 
through  special  filter  presses  after  which  it  is  ready  for 
evaporation. 

EVAPORATION 

During  the  processes  of  purification  the  juice  contains  a 
large  quantity  of  water  which  was  used  to  extract  the 
sugar  in  the  diffusion  battery.  This  must  be  evaporated 
before  the  sugar  will  crystallize.  The  first  beet  factories 
did  this  evaporating  in  open  pans  and  as  a  result  did  not 
secure  a  good  quality  of  sugar.  The  heat  required  to 
evaporate  water  rapidly  at  ordinary  atmospheric  pres- 
sure is  so  high  that  sugar  is  likely  to  be  charred.  For  this 


264  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

reason,  evaporation  is  carried  on  under  reduced  pres- 
sure which  lowers  the  boiling  point  of  the  liquid.  After 
the  juice  is  reduced  from  about  82  per  cent  of  water  to 
about  40  per  cent,  it  is  again  treated  with  sulfur  and 
filtered  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  used  for  the  "thin 
juice."  This  is  the  final  process  of  purifying  the  beet 
juice,  which  is  then  ready  for  graining. 

In  refining  cane-sugar,  there  is  no  treatment  with  sulfur ; 
impurities  are  removed  with  bone  black.  This  is  the 
chief  difference  in  the  method  of  making  sugar  from  cane 
and  from  beets  in  the  United  States.  In  Europe,  where 
raw  beet-sugar  is  produced  by  many  factories,  this  prod- 
uct also  is  refined  by  the  aid  of  bone  black.  In  early 
days  blood  was  used  extensively  in  sugar  refining,  but  this 
practice  has  now  been  discontinued  entirely. 

GRAINING 

The  vacuum-pan  serves  not  only  for  evaporating  the 
sirup  but  also  for  crystallizing  the  sugar.  This  pan  is  a 
large  cast-iron  tank  in  which  the  air  pressure  can  be  kept 
low  to  reduce  the  danger  of  browning  the  sugar  by  high 
heat.  If  the  juice  has  been  purified  properly,  there  is  no 
trouble  about  producing  good  sugar  in  this  pan;  but  if 
impurities  remain,  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  good  crystal- 
lization. This  mixture  of  crystals  and  sirup  is  called 
"  massecuite."  It  is  run  through  a  centrifugal  machine, 
like  that  shown  in  Plate  XXIX,  revolving  at  a  rate  of  1200 
revolutions  a  minute.  The  sirup  is  thrown  out  through 
fine  perforations  in  the  wall  of  the  machine,  and  the 
crystals  of  sugar  remain,  dropping  out  through  the  bottom 


Sugar-Making  265 

when  enough  sirup  is  thrown  off  to  permit  crumbling. 
From  the  centrifugal  machine  the  sugar  is  sent  to  the 
driers,  where  any  excess  moisture  is  removed  by  a 
current  of  warm  air.  The  sugar  is  then  ready  to  be 
sacked  and  sent  to  the  market. 

The  sirup  thrown  from  the  centrifugal  machines  goes 
to  the  second  vacuum-pan,  where  it  is  further  concen- 
trated ;  a  second  yield  of  sugar  smaller  than  the  first  is 
taken  from  it  in  the  centrifugal  machine.  The  molasses 
is  sometimes  carried  to  tanks,  where  it  is  used  in  a  manner 
discussed  in  Chapter  XII.  If  the  factory  is  equipped  with 
the  Steffen  process,  a  third  yield  of  sugar  is  secured.  This 
yield  is  small  and  represents  only  that  part  which  would 
remain  as  molasses  or  be  partly  saved,  if  the  ordinary 
processes  are  used  instead  of  the  Steffen. 

THE  STEFFEN  PROCESS 

Regarding  this  process  Rolph 1  has  the  following  to 
say :  "  In  some  of  the  beet  factories  the  sugar  left  in  the 
final  molasses  is  extracted  by  what  is  known  as  the  Steffen 
process.  The  final  low-purity  molasses  is  diluted  with 
water  and  cooled  to  a  very  low  temperature,  after  which 
finely  powdered  lime  is  constantly  added  to  the  solution 
at  a  uniform  and  slow  rate.  The  sugar  combines  with  the 
lime  and  a  saccharage  of  lime  is  formed  which  is  insoluble 
in  the  liquid.  The  suspended  matter,  or  saccharate,  is 
then  separated  and  washed  in  filter  presses. 

"The  cake  from  these  filter  presses,  which  is  the  sac- 

1  Rolph,  G.  M.,  "Something  about  Sugar"  (1917),  pp.  115- 
116. 


266  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

charate  of  lime,  is  mixed  with  sweet  water  to  a  consist- 
ency of  cream  and  takes  the  place  of  milk  of  lime  in  the 
carbonation  process.  When  the  Steffen  process  is  em- 
ployed, about  ninety  per  cent  of  the  sugar  originally  in 
the  beet  is  extracted.  The  loss  of  sugar  that  does  take 
place  is  accounted  for  in  the  exhausted  cossettes  or  pulp, 
in  the  pulp  water  which  surrounds  them  when  they  are 
dumped  from  the  diffusion  cells,  in  the  cake  and  wash 
waters  from  the  carbonation  presses,  and  in  the  waste 
and  wash  waters  from  the  Steffen  process.  As  the  water 
used  in  washing  the  saccharate  press  cake  is  rich  in  fer- 
tilizing qualities,  it  is  used  for  irrigating  the  lands  ad- 
joining the  factory. 

"The  6,511,274  tons  of  beets  harvested  in  the  United 
States  during  the  season  of  1915  contained  an  average  of 
16.49  per  cent  of  sucrose,  of  which  14.21  per  cent  found 
its  way  into  the  sacks  as  white  sugar.  The  difference, 
2.28  per  cent,  represented  the  loss  in  working  up  the  beets. 
As  only  a  few  factories,  however,  were  using  Steffen 
process,  a  considerable  amount  of  sugar  was  left  in  the 
waste  molasses.  For  the  same  period,  the  beets  produced 
in  California  contained  17.82  per  cent  of  sugar,  of  which 
15.64  per  cent  found  its  way  into  the  sacks,  showing  a 
loss  of  only  2.18  per  cent.  This  may  be  accounted  for 
by  the  fact  that  probably  more  of  the  California  factories 
were  equipped  with  the  Steffen  process  than  the  average 
for  the  United  States,  and  that  the  purity  of  the  juices  of 
California  beets  was  higher  than  the  average  for  the 
United  States. 

"A  factory  equipped  with  the  Steffen  process  and  run- 
ning on  beets  containing  17.82  per  cent  sugar,  with  a 


PLATE  XXIX.  —  Above,  centrifugal  machines  where  the  molasses  is 
thrown  out  of  the  sugar;  below,  sugar  warehouse,  Garden  City,  Kansas. 
(Courtesy  Truman  G.  Palmer.) 


Sugar-Making  267 

purity  of  82,  should  lose  not  over  1.9  per  cent  of  the  sugar 
in  the  beet.  The  same  factory  without  the  Steffen  pro- 
cess would  probably  lose  5.04  per  cent  of  the  sugar." 
It  would,  however,  have  a  considerable  quantity  of 
molasses. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
SUGAR-CANE 

No  discussion  of  the  sugar-beet  would  be  complete 
without  mention  being  made  of  its  great  rival,  sugar- 
cane. The  beet  furnishes  a  comparatively  new  source  of 
sugar,  whereas  cane  has  been  a  commercial  source  of 
sugar  for  centuries.  If  sugar-cane  could  be  raised  in 
temperate  climates  in  as  great  profusion  as  it  grows  in 
the  tropics,  sugar  would  probably  never  be  obtained  com- 
mercially from  the  sugar-beet,  since  the  yield  of  cane  is 
much  greater  than  that  of  beets,  and  the  expense  of  han- 
dling the  crop  is  very  much  less. 

Sugar-cane,  however,  is  confined  to  hot  countries ;  this 
means  that  sugar  made  from  it  has  to  be  transported  great 
distances  in  order  to  reach  the  big  markets,  which  are 
found  in  the  centers  of  population v  This  gives  beet- 
sugar  a  much  better  chance  to  compete.  No  one  can 
predict  exactly  the  relative  production  of  cane-  and  beet- 
sugar  in  the  future.  It  seems  probable  that  both  crops 
will  continue  to  be  raised,  each  one  supplying  the  market 
that  it  can  reach  most  easily. 

The  sugar-cane  plant  belongs  to  the  grass  family,  and 
is  usually  classed  in  the  genus  Saccharum,  although  it  was 
formerly  known  as  Arundo  saccharifera.  Many  varieties 


Sugar-Cane  269 

of  cane  are  grown.  These  differ  greatly  in  their  various 
properties,  and  they  have  the  following  colors :  green, 
yellow,  red,  brown,  black,  white,  purple,  and  mixed. 
Some  varieties  may  be  attractive  to  the  grower,  while  the 
manufacturer  may  prefer  others.  This  is  not  unlike  the 
conditions  with  varieties  of  other  crops.  The  producer 
seeks  yield  and  resistance;  the  manufacturer  desires 
quality  and  ease  in  handling.  No  one  variety  is  best 
suited  to  all  conditions;  a  choice  must  be  made  on  the 
basis  of  local  needs. 

The  roots  are  fibrous  and  lateral  and  do  not  penetrate 
deeply.  The  root-stalk  is  an  elongation  of  the  stem,  which 
is  made  up  of  numerous  nodes  and  internodes  varying  in 
length  from  four  to  ten  inches.  The  epidermis  is  polished 
and  in  some  varieties  is  very  thick.  Leaves  are  alternate ; 
they  are  large  at  the  base  and  gradually  taper  to  the 
point,  being  about  three  feet  long  and  in  some  varieties 
bearing  pricks.  The  older  leaves  drop  off  as  the  plant 
grows,  leaving  only  those  near  the  tip  actively  functioning. 

A  bud,  called  the  eye,  is  borne  under  the  base  of  each 
leaf  at  the  node.  These  contain  the  germ  from  which 
new  plants  are  produced.  Each  bud  is  capable  of  pro- 
ducing a  complete  plant  which  may  tiller  and  produce 
many  stalks.  The  seed  is  produced  in  panicles  of  silken 
spikes  and  is  often  infertile,  but  propagation  is  carried 
on  vegetatively  by  planting  stalks  or  pieces  of  stalks. 
Around  each  bud  are  found  numerous  little  dots  which 
produce  roots  when  the  bud  is  planted.  In  some  climates 
cane  bears  flowers  when  twelve  or  thirteen  months  old; 
in  other  climates  a  longer  period  is  required.  Flowering 
takes  place  before  the  cane  is  entirely  ripe. 


270  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

In  Hawaii,  eighteen  months  are  required  for  it  to  ripen ; 
it  tassels  about  a  month  before  it  is  ready  to  cut.  In 
Louisiana  and  Texas,  the  crop  is  harvested  in  nine  or  ten 
months  after  planting ;  in  Cuba,  it  is  cut  in  twelve  months 
whether  it  is  ripe  or  not.  In  the  Philippines,  it  is  har- 
vested in  about  fourteen  months,  being  planted  in  No- 
vember and  December  and  harvested  a  year  from  the 
next  January  and  February. 

ADAPTATION 

Sugar-cane  is  strictly  a  hot-climate  plant.  In  order 
to  flourish,  it  must  have  abundant  sunshine,  plenty  of 
moisture,  and  a  fertile  soil.  It  is  usually  confined  to  the 
tropics,  included  between  twenty-two  degrees  north  lati- 
tude and  twenty-two  degrees  south  latitude,  although  in 
a  few  places  it  reaches  beyond  these  boundaries,  having 
been  grown  as  far  north  as  thirty-two  degrees  in  Spain 
and  as  far  south  as  thirty-seven  degrees  in  New  Zealand. 
The  most  favorable  growing  conditions  are  found  with  an 
average  annual  temperature  of  about  75°  F.  and  seven  to 
nine  months  of  growing  season  with  warm  days  and 
nights. 

It  flourishes  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  Cuba,  Mexico, 
Central  America,  islands  of  the  East  and  West  Indies, 
Australia,  China,  India,  along  the  shores  of  the  China 
Sea  and  Indian  Ocean,  and  in  parts  of  Africa  and  South 
America.  In  the  low  altitudes  of  temperate  zones  it 
grows,  but  is  only  fairly  successful. 

The  water  requirement  of  the  crop  is  exceedingly  large 
and  can  only  be  met  by  an  extremely  heavy  rainfall  or 


PLATE  XXX.  —  Above,  planting  sugar-cane ;   below,  unloading  cane  with 
a  derrick,  Cuba.     (Courtesy  N.  Kopeloff.) 


Sugar-Cane  271 

by  irrigation.  The  distribution  of  moisture  is  highly 
important,  most  of  it  being  required  during  the  period  of 
rapid  growth.  A  comparatively  dry  season  during  ripen- 
ing and  harvest  is  desirable ;  and  in  the  growing  season, 
periods  of  clear  skies  and  hot  sunshine  should  alternate 
with  the  rainy  periods. 


SOILS  AND  MANTTKING 

Because  the  cane  plant  is  a  vigorous  feeder,  it  needs  a 
fertile  soil  for  its  best  growth.  When  so  heavy  a  crop 
must  be  supported  from  the  zone  that  is  penetrated  by 
the  shallow  roots  of  the  cane,  considerable  available  plant- 
food  is  required.  If  this  is  not  present  in  the  soil,  it  must 
be  added  as  fertilizer  if  the  highest  yield  is  realized.  No 
particular  kind  of  soil  is  required ;  any  good  agricultural 
land  that  can  be  well  aerated  and  that  has  sufficient 
plant-food  will  raise  sugar-cane.  Limestone  soils  are  to 
be  preferred  for  this  as  well  as  for  many  other  crops.  The 
saline  condition  often  found  along  the  coast  causes  trouble 
with  cane,  although  high  yields  are  sometimes  obtained 
in  the  presence  of  some  salt.  A  soil  high  in  vegetable 
mold  is  likely  to  produce  a  vegetative  growth  at  the 
expense  of  sugar  formation. 

In  some  cane-producing  sections,  fertilizer  is  added 
twice  for  one  crop,  the  first  about  planting  time  and  the 
second  after  growth  is  well  under  way.  In  Hawaii,  about 
$25  an  acre  are  spent  each  year  for  fertilizers. 

Where  irrigation  is  practiced,  the  land  is  laid  out  with 
furrows  about  five  feet  apart  and  eighteen  inches  deep, 
running  on  a  contour  with  the  land  to  prevent  washing. 


272  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

In  these  furrows  the  cane  is  planted,  and  they  also  serve 
as  carriers  for  the  irrigation  water  later.  Water  is  ap- 
plied soon  after  planting  and  at  intervals  of  about  a  week 
throughout  the  growing  period. 


CULTURAL  METHODS 

The  cane  stalk  is  so  cut  in  joints  that  there  will  be  at 
least  one  bud  on  every  joint;  these  are  dropped  in  the 
furrow  end  to  end,  as  shown  in  Plate  XXX,  with  a  slight 
lapping  to  insure  a  good  stand.  The  upper  part  of  the 
stalk,  not  suited  for  anything  else,  is  usually  planted. 
They  are  covered  with  one  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  of 
soil,  and  carefully  watered  in  order  to  promote  an  early 
sprouting.  Cultivation  is  also  begun  and  continued  as 
long  as  the  plants  permit.  In  some  parts  of  the  tropics, 
practically  no  care  is  given  the  cane  after  it  is  planted ; 
it  is  allowed  to  yield  from  year  to  year  whatever  nature 
will  produce  unaided. 

In  some  sections,  fresh  plantings  are  made  for  every 
crop,  but  a  more  common  practice  is  to  allow  "  ratooning, " 
or  a  growing  up  from  the  roots.  When  this  is  done,  a 
furrow  is  plowed  along  the  row  after  cutting  to  help  in 
aerating  the  soil,  and  a  fresh  growth  begins  at  once. 
When  but  one  year  of  growth  from  the  roots  is  practiced, 
it  is  called  a  "short  ratoon";  when  the  growth  is  con- 
tinued two  or  three  years  or  longer,  it  is  called  a  "long 
ratoon."  In  Hawaii  it  used  to  be  the  practice  to  plant 
every  crop,  but  now  ratooning  two  or  three  crops  is  more 
common.  In  Cuba  the  crop  is  ratooned  for  long  periods, 
sometimes  twenty  years  or  more. 


PLATE  XXXI.  —  Abc.rr,   a    vigorous   j 
below,  sugar-cane  in  Louisiana. 


•o\vth  of  sugar-pane,  Argentina; 
(Courtesy  N.  Kopeloff.) 


Sugar-Cane  273 

In  Hawaii  and  other  parts  of  the  tropics,  planting  is 
done  from  March  to  September,  the  cane  beginning  to 
ripen  a  year  from  the  next  December.  The  period  of 
harvest  extends  from  January  to  the  latter  part  of  July 
or  August.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  have  double  the 
amount  of  land  that  is  to  be  harvested  each  year,  since 
practically  two  years  are  consumed  in  the  planting,  grow- 
ing, and  harvesting  of  a  crop . . 

The  growth  of  a  vigorous  crop  of  sugar-cane  resembles 
that  of  a  jungle,  Plate  XXXI.  After  the  stalks  become 
heavy  with  sugar,  they  sag  into  all  shapes.  Stalks  that 
are  twenty-four  feet  long  may  become  so  prostrate  that 
they  seem  to  be  only  ten  or  twelve  feet  high.  Some 
varieties  retain  their  upright  growth  much  better  than 
others. 

HARVESTING 

The  cane  is  cut  near  the  ground  with  heavy  knives  and 
at  the  same  time  the  top  is  cut  off  and  the  stalk  cut  into 
convenient  lengths.  In  many  sections,  before  cutting  is 
begun,  the  field  is  set  on  fire  in  order  to  rid  the  plants  of 
leaves ;  in  other  places  the  leaves  are  stripped  off.  The 
cane  is  taken  to  the  mills  either  on  railroads  or  wagons 
similar  to  those  shown  in  Plate  XXXII  or  carried  by 
water  through  flumes.  Where  railroads  are  used,  paths 
are  cut  through  the  fields  about  150  feet  apart,  and  rails 
laid  through  these.  In  loading  the  cane  on  the  cars,  a 
strap  is  bound  around  as  large  a  load  as  a  man  wishes  to 
carry,  and  the  load  is  placed  on  his  back  and  is  carried 
up  an  inclined  plank  to  the  car.  Since  fire  kills  the  buds, 
the  plants  that  are  to  be  used  for  seed  are  not  burned. 


274  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

In  Hawaii  a  yield  of  twenty  to  eighty-five  tons  of 
cane  to  the  acre  is  secured.  This  contains  from  two  and 
a  half  to  twelve  tons  of  sugar,  with  an  average  of  about 
five  tons. 

EXTRACTION   OF  SUGAR 

The  sugar  is  removed  from  beets  by  dissolving  it  from 
the  cells  with  water  in  the  diffusion  battery ;  it  is  removed 
from  cane  by  crushing  the  stalks  and  squeezing  out  the 
juice  between  heavy  rollers.  The  cane  on  the  car  in  which 
it  comes  from  the  field  is  weighed  and  samples  are  taken 
for  analysis.  It  is  then  ready  for  the  mill.  It  passes 
along  conveyers  to  the  crusher,  which  consists  of  two 
large  corrugated  rollers  which  break  the  stalks  and  squeeze 
out  part  of  the  juice.  The  cane  mat  is  then  passed  on 
through  the  mill,  where  it  passes  between  several  sets  of 
rollers  which  squeeze  out  all  possible  juice. 

The  bagasse,  or  woody  part  of  the  cane,  which  has  been 
squeezed  dry,  is  conveyed  to  the  engine  house  to  be  used 
as  fuel.  The  juice,  after  being  screened  to  remove  the 
coarser  solids  held  in  suspension,  goes  to  the  purification 
tanks,  then  to  the  multiple  evaporators,  and  finally  to  the 
crystallizing  vacuum-pan,  where  it  is  usually  made  into 
raw  sugar.  Most  of  the  raw  sugar  is  taken  to  large  re- 
fineries in  the  coast  cities,  where  it  is  made  into  the  re- 
fined sugar  of  commerce. 

The  processes  of  making  cane-  and  beet-sugar  are  very 
similar  except  in  one  or  two  stages.  These  processes  are 
discussed  in  greater  detail  in  the  chapter  on  sugar-making. 


PLATE  XXXII.  —  Above,   hand   cutters  harv 
train  of  cane  wagons  drawn  by  tractor,  Cuba. 


sting  sugar-cane;    below, 
(Courtesy  N.  Kopeloff  .) 


CHAPTER  XX 
WORLD'S  USE  AND  SUPPLY  OF  SUGAR 

THAT  each  year  sees  an  increase  in  the  use  of  sugar  in 
all  civilized  nations  indicates  its  fundamental  value  as 
a  desirable  and  economic  food.  Formerly  there  was 
much  prejudice  against  the  use  of  sugar.  In  ancient 
times  it  was  thought  to  be  useful  only  as  medicine ;  later 
it  was  considered  as  a  delicacy  to  be  used  sparingly ;  only 
recently  has  it  taken  a  place  as  an  economical  food  used 
for  its  energy  value  as  much  as  for  its  agreeable  flavor. 

The  increased  use  of  sugar  in  practically  all  countries 
will  necessitate  a  great  extension  of  the  present  sugar- 
producing  area,  if  the  rate  of  increase  in  use  is  continued. 
The  place  where  this  increase  in  production  will  be  made 
depends  on  several  important  factors.  Transportation 
facilities  and  legislative  enactments  will  have  quite  as 
much  to  do  with  the  problem  as  will  the  adaptation  of 
various  sections  to  the  growth  of  sugar-producing  plants. 

KINDS  OF  SUGAR  AND  PROPERTIES 

Sugar  is  a  general  name  applied  to  a  large  group  of 
substances  which,  together  with  the  starches,  constitute 
the  carbohydrates.  The  name  "carbohydrate"  was 

275 


276  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

given  because  these  compounds  are  made  up  of  carbon 
combined  with  hydrogen  and  oxygen  in  the  ratio  in  which 
these  elements  are  found  in  water.  This  makes  the  carbo- 
hydrates in  reality  carbon-water  compounds.  The  sugars 
are  as  a  rule  crystalline,  soluble  in  water,  less  soluble  or 
insoluble  in  alcohol,  and  insoluble  in  ether  and  other  sol- 
vents that  are  immiscible  with  water.  They  all  have  a 
more  or  less  sweet  taste,  but  vary  considerably  in  sweet- 
ness. Most  sugars  have  the  property  of  rotating  the 
plane  of  polarized  light.  This  property  is  of  great  aid  to 
the  chemist  in  making  rapid  determinations  of  the  quantity 
of  sugar  present  in  any  substance. 

The  commercial  sugars  are  divided  chemically  into  two 
classes :  monosaccharids  and  disaccharids.  The  mono- 
saccharids  have  the  formula  CeH^Oe  and  include  dex- 
trose, or  grape-sugar,  and  levulose,  or  fruit-sugar.  The 
disaccharids  have  the  formula  C^H^On  and  include  su- 
crose, or  cane-sugar,  lactose,  or  milk-sugar,  and  malt- 
ose, or  malt-sugar.  They  may  be  considered  as  con- 
densation products  of  the  monosaccharids  and  derived 
from  two  molecules  by  the  elimination  of  water  thus : 
2C6H12O6-H2O  =  Ci2H22Oii.  The  sugars  of  the  disac- 
charid  group  are  hydrolyzed  when  heated  in  solution  with 
dilute  acid ;  in  the  case  of  sucrose  a  mixture  of  dextrose 
and  levulose  results,  the  change  consisting  of  the  addition 
of  a  molecule  of  water  and  a  bisection  of  the  sucrose 
molecule.  This  action  is  called  "inversion." 

Sucrose,  or  cane-sugar,  is  the  most  important  of  the 
sugars ;  it  is  the  ordinary  sugar  of  commerce.  It  is  about 
two  and  one-half  times  as  sweet  as  grape-sugar.  The 
name  cane-sugar  was  given  because  it  was  first  obtained 


World's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar  277 

from  cane ;  but  it  might  just  as  well  be  called  beet-sugar, 
since  the  sugar  obtained  from  the  beet  is  exactly  the  same 
chemically  as  that  obtained  from  cane.  This  sugar  is 
made  up  of  monoclinic  prisms  —  usually  with  hemihedral 
faces  —  and  contains  no  water  of  crystallization.  The 
crystals  are  colorless,  transparent,  and  have  a  specific 
gravity  of  about  1.6  and  a  melting  point  of  about  160°  C. 
At  this  temperature  there  is  no  decomposition  in  the 
melted  liquid,  which  solidifies  on  cooling  to  an  amorphous 
glassy  mass  and  will  after  a  short  time  assume  crystalline 
structure  and  become  opaque.  If  heated  to  a  higher 
temperature,  decomposition  takes  place  between  200°  and 
210°  C.,  when  considerable  gas  is  given  off  and  a  dark 
brown  substance  with  a  bitter  taste  called  caramel  is  left. 
Sucrose  is  a  strong  reducing  agent,  which  means  that 
it  is  readily  oxidized.  It  does  not  ferment  until  converted 
into  invert  sugar  by  the  action  of  the  yeast  plant,  or  in- 
vertin  from  yeast,  or  by  some  acid. 

SUGAR  IN  NATURE 

The  sugars  are  found  very  widely  distributed  through- 
out the  plant  kingdom.  It  is  stated  1  that  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  foods  have  a  sweetish  taste  as  compared  with 
one-third  that  taste  salty  and  about  one-tenth  bitter  or 
sour.  Sucrose,  in  addition  to  being  present  in  large 
quantities  in  sugar-cane  and  the  sugar-beet,  is  found  in 
sorghum,  in  corn-stalks,  in  the  sap  of  many  forest  trees, 
in  seeds,  in  most  sweet  fruits,  —  usually  associated  with 
invert  sugar,  —  in  many  kinds  of  roots,  and  in  the  nectar 
1  Surface,  G.  M.,  "The  Story  of  Sugar,"  p.  31. 


278 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


of  flowers.  It  exists  in  solution  in  the  cells  of  plants. 
Dextrose  and  levulose,  which  usually  occur  together,  are 
found  in  most  fruits,  in  honey,  and  in  many  other  products. 
Honey  consists  of  a  natural  mixture  of  about  37  per  cent 
each  of  dextrose  and  levulose,  and  may  contain  as  high  as 
6  or  8  per  cent  of  sucrose.  Milk-sugar,  or  lactose,  is  con- 
tained in  milk,  from  4  to  5  per  cent  being  present.  Malt- 
sugar,  or  maltose,  results  from  the  action  of  diastase  on 
starchy  materials. 

Newlands  l  quotes  the  following  analyses  from  Payen 
to  show  the  amount  of  sugar  contained  in  a  number  of 
fruits : 

TABLE  XX.  —  PERCENTAGE  OF  SUGAR  IN  FRUITS 


CANE-SUOAB 

TOTAL  SUGARS 

Pineapple  (Montserrat)     

11  33 

13  30 

Strawberry  (Collina  d'Erherdt)       .     . 
Apricot 

6.33 
604 

11.31 

878 

Apple,  gray  Reinette  (fresh)  .... 
Apple,  gray  Reinette  (preserved)    .     . 
Apple  English.     

5.28 
3.20 
2  19 

14.00 
15.83 
765 

Calville  (preserved)       

0.43 

625 

5.24 

8.67 

Plum  Reine  Claude     

1  23 

555 

0.41 

1.47 

Orange  

4.22 

8.58 

Raspberry  

2.01 

7.23 

Peach     

0.92 

1.99 

Pear       

0.68 

8.78 

Pear,  St.  Germaine  (preserved)  .     .     . 

0.36 

7.84 

1  Newlands,  J.  A.  R.,  and  B.  E.  R.,  "Sugar,  A  Handbook  for 
Planter  and  Refiners,"  p.  xvi. 


World's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar 


279 


The  purity  of  sucrose  in  raw  sugar  from  different  sources 
is  given  by  Abel l  as  follows : 

TABLE   XXI.  —  AVERAGE   PERCENTAGE   COMPOSITION   OF   RAW 
SUGAR  FROM  DIFFERENT  SOURCES 


SUQAK  FROM 

WATER 

CANE-SUGAR 

OTHER 
ORGANIC 

SUBSTANCES 

ASH| 

Percent 

Percent 

Percent 

Percent 

Sugar-cane  . 

2.16 

93.33 

4.24 

1.27 

Sugar-beet   . 

2.90 

92.90 

2.59 

2.56 

Maize      .     . 

2.50 

88.42 

7.62 

1.47 

Palm  .     .     . 

1.86 

87.97 

9.65 

.50 

Maple      .     . 

7.50 

82.80 

8.79 

.91 

These  figures  would  not  be  constant  under  different 
conditions,  but  they  show  average  impurities  in  sugar 
from  different  sources  before  it  is  refined. 


SUGAR  AS  A   FOOD 

The  value  of  sugar  as  a  food  is  discussed  by  Abel 2  as 
follows:  "The  main  function  of  sugar  as  found  in  the 
blood,  whether  resulting  from  the  digestion  of  sugar  or  of 
starch,  is  believed  to  be  the  production  of  energy  for  in- 
ternal and  external  muscular  work,  and,  as  a  necessary 
accompaniment,  body  heat.  This  has  been  amply  demon- 
strated by  experiment.  By  ingenious  devices  the  blood 
going  to  and  from  a  muscle  of  a  living  animal  may  be 

1  Abel,  Mary  Hinman,  "Sugar  and  Its  Value  as  Food,"  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  535  (1917),  p.  13. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  16-18. 


280  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

analyzed,  and  it  is  thus  shown  that  more  blood  traverses 
an  active  or  working  muscle  and  more  sugar  disappears 
from  it  than  is  the  case  with  a  muscle  at  rest. 

"To  decide  the  question  of  the  value  of  sugar  as  a 
source  of  energy  for  the  working  muscle,  much  careful 
laboratory  work  has  been  carried  on.  It  has  been  found 
that  an  increase  in  the  sugar  content  of  the  diet,  when 
not  too  great  and  when  the  sugar  is  not  too  concentrated, 
lessens  or  delays  fatigue  and  increases  working  power. 
Increased  amounts  of  sugar  were  found  to  increase  the 
ability  to  perform  muscular  work  to  such  an  extent  that 
on  a  ration  of  500  grams  (17.5  ounces)  of  sugar  alone  a 
man  was  able  to  do  61  to  76  per  cent  more  work  than  on  a 
fasting  diet,  or  almost  as  much  as  on  a  full  ordinary  diet. 
The  addition  of  about  half  this  quantity  of  sugar  to  an 
ordinary  or  to  a  meager  diet  also  considerably  increased 
the  capacity  for  work,  the  effect  of  the  sugar  being  felt 
about  a  half  an  hour  after  eating  it,  and  its  maximum 
effect  showing  itself  about  two  hours  after  eating.  The 
coming  of  fatigue  was  also  found  to  be  considerably  de- 
layed on  this  diet,  and  taking  3  or  4  ounces  of  sugar  a 
short  time  before  the  usual  time  for  the  occurrence  of 
fatigue  prevented  the  appearance  of  it.  Lemonade,  or 
other  similar  refreshing  drink,  and  chocolate  have  been 
suggested  as  mediums  for  supplying  in  small  doses  an  extra 
amount  of  sugar  to  men  called  upon  to  perform  extraor- 
dinary muscular  labor.  The  application  of  these  re- 
sults to  the  food  of  soldiers  who  may  be  called  upon  for 
extraordinary  exertion  in  marching  or  fighting  is  very 
evident.  Practical  tests  of  the  value  of  sugar  in  pre- 
venting or  delaying  fatigue,  made  in  both  the  German  and 


World's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar  281 

French  armies,  indicate  the  value  of  sugar  in  the  ration 
when  the  men  are  subjected  to  great  exertion. 

"...  According  to  our  present  knowledge  the  value 
of  sugar  as  a  food  for  muscular  work  may  be  briefly  sum- 
marized as  follows : 

"When  the  organism  is  adapted  to  the  digestion  of 
starch,  and  there  is  sufficient  time  for  its  utilization,  sugar 
has  no  advantage  over  starch  as  a  food  for  muscular  work. 

"  In  small  quantities  and  in  not  too  concentrated  form 
sugar  will  take  the  place,  practically  weight  for  weight, 
of  starch  as  a  food  for  muscular  work,  barring  the  dif- 
ference in  energy  and  in  time  required  to  digest  them, 
sugar  having  the  advantage  in  these  respects. 

"It  furnishes  the  needed  carbohydrate  material  to 
organisms  that  have  little  or  no  power  to  digest  starch. 
Thus,  milk  sugar  is  part  of  the  natural  food  of  the  infant 
whose  digestive  organs  are,  as  yet,  unable  to  convert 
starch  into  an  assimilable  form. 

"In  times  of  great  exertion  or  exhausting  labor,  the 
rapidity  with  which  it  is  assimilated  gives  sugar  certain 
advantages  over  starch  and  makes  it  prevent  fatigue. 

"This  latter  quality,  which  renders  it  more  rapidly 
available  for  muscular  power,  may  account  for  the  fact 
that  sugar  is  so  relished  by  people  who  are  doing  muscular 
work,  and  by  those  of  very  active  habits,  such  as  children. 

"  The  American  farmer  ranks  high  among  agriculturists 
as  a  rapid  and  enduring  worker,  and  his  consumption  of 
sweets  is  known  to  be  very  large.  The  same  is  true  of 
lumbermen  and  others  who  work  hard  in  the  open  air; 
sugar  and  seed  cakes  are  favorite  foods  with  them.  Dietary 
studies  carried  on  in  the  winter  lumber  camps  of  Maine 


282  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

showed  that  large  quantities  of  cookies,  cakes,  molasses, 
and  sugar  were  eaten,  sugar  of  all  sorts  supplying  on  an 
average  10  per  cent  of  the  total  energy  of  the  diet. 

"The  value  of  sugar  in  cold  climates,  where  foods  con- 
taining starch  are  not  available,  is  evident,  and  in  the 
outfit  of  polar  expeditions  sugar  is  now  given  an  important 
place. 

"Oriental  races  are  very  fond  of  sweets,  as  often  noted 
by  travelers.  Certain  forms  of  confectionery  are  very 
popular  in  Turkey  and  other  regions  of  the  East,  and  in 
tropical  lands  the  consumption  of  dates,  figs,  and  other 
sweets  is  very  large.  In  a  discussion  l  of  the  food  of  the 
natives  of  India  the  great  value  set  on  sweetmeats  or 
sugar  by  the  Hindoo  population  of  all  classes  is  pointed 
out.  Large  quantities  of  brown  or  white  sugar  are  used 
to  sweeten  the  boiled  milk,  which  is  a  common  article  of 
diet,  and  sugar  is  also  used  with  sour  milk,  rice,  cheese, 
and  other  foods.  It  has  also  been  said  that  the  employer 
who  will  not  furnish  the  native  laborers  with  the  large 
amounts  of  sugar  they  desire,  in  their  daily  ration,  must 
expect  to  lose  his  workmen. 

"Certain  rowing  clubs  in  Holland  have  reported  very 
beneficial  results  from  the  use  of  large  amounts  of  sugar 
in  training. 

"Pfliiger,  who  devoted  so  much  attention  to  glycogen 
and  other  carbohydrates,  says  that  undoubtedly  sugar  in 
the  blood  is  heavily  drawn  on  during  violent  exercise; 
hence  the  longing  for  it  in  a  form  that  can  be  rapidly 
assimilated. 

"Its  use  by  mountain  climbers  is  well  known.  The 
1  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.t  Off.  Exp.  Sta.,  Bui.  No.  175. 


World's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar 


283 


Swiss  guide  considers  lump  sugar  and  highly  sweetened 
chocolate  an  indispensable  part  of  his  outfit." 


INCREASE   IN   USE   OF  SUGAR 


While  man  has  probably  always   eaten   considerable 
sugar,  which  he  obtained  in  fruit  and  other  foods,  the  use 


FIG.  32.  —  Production  of  total  sugar  and  beet-sugar  in  the  world  and  the 
United  States'  consumption  of  sugar  and  production  of  beet-sugar. 

of  refined  sugar  in  large  quantities  is  confined  to  modern 
times.  As  previously  stated,  sugar  was  anciently  thought 
to  be  suitable  for  use  only  on  special  occasions;  today 


284 


•O   v> 


.3 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


it  forms  a  part  of  every  day's 
ration  of  civilized  peoples.  The 
increase  in  the  use  of  sugar  during 
the  last  generation  is  shown  in 
Fig.  32,  which  gives  the  world's 
production  over  the  period  extend- 
ing from  1865  to  1915.  This  curve 
shows  that  during  a  period  of  fifty 
years,  the  production  and  conse- 
quently the  consumption  of  sugar 
increased  from  four  and  one-half 
billion  pounds  to  over  forty  bil- 
lion, or  an  increase  of  900  per  cent. 
Of  course  the  population  of  the 
world  increased  during  this  period, 
but  in  no  way  did  this  compare 
with  the  increase  in  sugar  con- 
sumption. 

An  examination  of  Fig.  33  shows 
that  if  all  the  countries  come  up 
to  the  per  capita  consumption  of 
nations  like  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  the  increase  in  the 
total  sugar  required  in  the  world 
will  continue.  It  is  impossible  to 
predict  what  the  future  consump- 
tion of  sugar  in  the  world  will  be, 
but  it  seems  probable  that  more 
sugar  will  be  required  each  year, 
especially  if  the  price  can  be  kept 
low.  That  it  should  find  a  greater 


"8 


World's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar 


285 


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I 


286  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

use  seems  only  reasonable,  since  it  supplies  a  wholesome 
and  nourishing  food,  which  is  relished  by  all  classes  of 
people.  i 

USE  IN  DIFFERENT  COUNTRIES 

The  annual  per  capita  consumption  of  sugar  in  the 
United  States  and  the  leading  countries  of  Europe  is 
shown  in  Fig.  33.  It  varies  from  89.59  pounds  for  each 
individual  in  the  United  Kingdom  to  8.94  pounds  in 
Italy.  According  to  their  use  of  sugar,  the  countries 
come  in  the  following  order :  United  Kingdom,  Denmark, 
United  States,  Switzerland,  Norway  and  Sweden,  Germany, 
Netherlands,  France,  Belgium,  Austria-Hungary,  Russia, 
Spain,  and  Italy,  —  the  people  of  the  British  Isles  using 
ten  times  as  much  as  the  Italians.  Figures  compiled  by 
Palmer l  show  the  following  percentage  increase  per 
capita  in  sugar  consumption  during  the  twenty-six-year 
period  from  1889  to  1915  in  the  countries  mentioned: 
Germany,  323;  Netherlands,  198;  Russia,  188;  Austria- 
Hungary,  187;  Switzerland,  150;  Denmark,  144;  Bel- 
gium, 102;  United  States,  71;  France,  54;  Spain,  46; 
United  Kingdom,  22 ;  and  Italy,  16. 

He  also  compiled  Table  XXII,  which  shows  the  total 
consumption  of  sugar  in  the  United  States  and  several 
European  countries.  This  table  shows  that  in  less 
than  thirty  years  the  use  of  sugar  has  increased  several 
hundred  per  cent  in  most  countries.  France  is  the 
only  one  in  which  it  has  not  more  than  doubled  in  that 
time. 

Calmer,  Truman  H.,  "Concerning  Sugar"  (1916). 


World's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar 


287 


288 


The  Stigar-Beet  in  America 


CUBA 

SUGAR 

PRODUCTION 
EACH  DOT  REPRESENTS  6.250  TONS  (500,000  ARROBAS) 


6TATWTC    MILCS 


PORTO  RICO 
SUGAR  CANE 

ACREAGE 
EACH  DOT  REPRESENTS  600  ACMES 


HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS 

SUGAR  CANE 

ACREAGE 
EACH  DOT  REPRESENTS  500  ACRES 


STATUTt   MILtS 


JAVA 

SUGAR  CANE 

ACREAGE 
EACH  DOT  REPRESENTS  1.250  ACRES 


FIG.  35.  —  Sugar  production  in  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  Hawaii,  and  Java. 
(U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.) 


Wwld's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar 


289 


SOURCE  OF  SUPPLY 


The  supply  of  sugar  for  the  world  comes  from  com- 
paratively few  areas.     One  factor  entering  into  this  is 


INDIA 
SUGAR  CANE 

ACREAGE  0 

EACH  POT  REPRESENTS  LOW  AC«e9 


Fia.  36.  —  Production  of  sugar  in  India.     (U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.) 

that  the  individual  farmer  cannot  make  commercial  sugar 
in  regions  where  there  are  no  sugar  factories;  and  so 
much  money  is  invested  in  a  sugar  factory  that  one  is  not 
u 


290  The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 

likely  to  be  built  except  in  a  region  thought  to  be  well 
adapted  to  the  raising  of  either  sugar-cane  or  sugar-beets. 
Sugar-cane  is  restricted  to  hot  moist  climates  and  sugar- 
beets  are  raised  in  comparatively  few  districts.  The  parts 
of  the  world  that  produce  cane-sugar  and  beet-sugar 
are  shown  in  Fig.  34.  The  sugar-producing  area  is  seen 
to  be  very  small  in  comparison  to  the  total  land  area. 
The  production  of  cane-sugar  in  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  Hawaii, 
Java,  and  India  is  shown  in  greater  detail  in  Figs.  35  and 
36.  These  represent  the  chief  sources  of  cane-sugar. 

The  relative  number  of  beet-sugar  factories  in  Europe 
and  the  United  States  is  given  in  Fig.  11,  page  3.  The 
maps  are  drawn  to  the  same  scale  and  give  some  idea  of 
the  expansion  that  would  be  necessary  in  beet  raising 
in  the  United  States  if  it  were  made  equal  to  that  of 
Europe. 

At  the  opening  of  the  European  war,  the  world's  sugar 
supply  was  about  equally  divided  between  beet-sugar  and 
cane-sugar ;  but  military  operations  in  the  beet-producing 
areas  of  northern  France,  Belgium,  Poland,  and  Italy 
have  greatly  curtailed  the  making  of  beet-sugar  in  these 
sections,  and  cane-sugar  has  been  given  a  decided  lead. 

The  countries  exporting  and  importing  sugar  are  shown 
in  Fig.  37.  Cuba  is  the  greatest  exporter,  followed  by 
the  Dutch  East  Indies,  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  and 
the  smaller  exporters.  The  United  States  is  the  leading 
importer,  followed  by  the  United  Kingdom,  British  India, 
China,  Canada,  and  the  smaller  importers. 

The  production  of  sugar  in  the  United  States  and  her 
possessions  is  shown  in  Fig.  38.  These  give  about  half 
of  the  sugar  consumed  in  the  country ;  most  of  the  other 


World's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar 


291 


half  is  imported  from  Cuba.     An  idea  of  the  amount  of 
sugar  used  in  this  country  may  be  obtained  when  it  is 


SUGAR  EXPORTS  AND  IMPORTS 

FIVE    YEAR    AVERAGE.     19O9-1913 


TOTAL  EXPORTS 

t49300*7.eeS  POUNDS 


TOTAL  IMPORTS 

frO70.294.Oet  POUND* 


Fio.  37.  —  Sugar  exports  and  imports  in  different  countries.      (U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agr.) 

realized  that  a  freight  train  extending  from  Boston  to 
Denver  would  be  required  to  haul  one  year's  supply. 

Detailed  figures  regarding  the  world's  use  and  supply 
of  sugar  are  given  in  Appendix  C. 


FUTURE  USE  AND  SUPPLY 


Figures  have  already  been  given  to  show  that  the  use 
of  sugar  in  the  world  is  increasing  very  rapidly.  There 
seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  this  increase  should  not 


292 


The  Sugar-Beet  in  America 


go  on  till  the  amount  required  to  supply  the  world's  needs 
will  be  several  times  what  it  is  at  present;  nor  is  there 
any  reason  to  believe  that  this  demand  cannot  be  met 


SUGAR  PRODUCTION 

FIVE   YEAR   AVERAGE.     19O9-1913 

UNlTEb   STATES   AND   POSSESSIONS 

CANE  SUGAR 

THOUSANDS  OF  SHORT  TONS 

100               200               300              400               500 

HAWAII 
PORTO  RICO 
LOUISIANA 
PHILIPPINE  IS. 

j 

^ 

— 

BEET  SUGAR                                          THOUSANDS  OF  SHORT  TONS 
1                  100               200              300             400              500 

COLORADO           JBHBUBBBI 

CALIFORNIA 

—  i 

— 

MICHIGAN 

HBOB 

• 

UTAH  &  IDAHO 

mama 

OTHER  STATES 

"""I 

FIG.  38.  —  Production  of  sugar  in  the  United  States  and  possessions. 
(U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.) 

easily.    Under  scientific  methods,  cane-sugar  production 
in  the  tropics  is  capable  of  very  great  expansion;    the 
world's  entire  sugar  supply  could  be  obtained  from  this 
source  if  there  were  no  other. 
The  beet-sugar  industry  is  only  in  its  infancy  in  the 


World's  Use  and  Supply  of  Sugar  293 

United  States.  It  also  could  be  extended  to  many  other 
parts  of  the  temperate  zone.  If  necessary,  the  world's 
needs  for  sugar  could  be  supplied  from  beets,  so  great  is 
the  area  adapted  to  raising  this  crop.  With  these  two 
sources  of  sugar,  it  seems  reasonable  to  believe  that  there 
will  be  no  permanent  shortage  in  this  product  that  is  each 
year  becoming  a  more  important  element  in  the  diet  of 
mankind. 


APPENDIX   A 

BIBLIOGRAPHY » 

Books 

1840.  CHILD,  DAVID  LEE.  "Culture  of  the  Beet,  and  Manu- 
facture of  Beet  Sugar,"  pp.  156.  (Boston.) 

1880.  WARE,  LEWIS  S.  "The  Sugar  Beet,"  pp.  323.  (Phila- 
delphia.) 

1897.  SPENCER,   G.   L.     "A  Handbook  for  Beet-sugar  Chem- 

ists,"  pp.461.     (New  York.) 

1898.  WARE,  L.  S.     "  Sugar  Beet  Seed,"  pp.  264.     (New  York.) 

1899.  MYRICK,   HERBERT.     "The  American  Sugar  Industry," 

pp.  220.     (New  York.) 

1902.  WARE,  L.  B.  "Cattle  Feeding  with  Sugar  Beets,  Sugar, 
Molasses,  and  Sugar  Residuum,"  pp.  389.  (Philadel- 
phia.) 

1905.  WARE,  L.  B.  "Beet  Sugar  Manufacture,"  2  vol.,  pp.  543 
and  647.  (New  York.) 

1908.  RODERNS,  FRANK.     "The  American  Beet  Growers   An- 

nual," pp.  83.     (Chicago.) 

1909.  NEWLANDS,  J.  A.  R.,  and  NEWLANDS,  B.  E.  R.     "Sugar, 

A   Handbook   for   Planters   and    Refiners,"    pp.  876. 
(London  and  New  York.) 

1909.  NIKAIDO,    Y.     "Beet-sugar   Making   and    its    Chemical 

Control,"  pp.  354.     (Easton,  Pa.) 

1910.  CLAASSEN,  H.     "Beet-Sugar  Manufacture."     Translated 

from  third  German  Edition  by  W.  T.  Hall  and  G.  W. 
Rolfe,  pp.  343.     (New  York.) 

1  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  a  complete  list  of  publica- 
tions relating  to  the  sugar-beet  in  America.  Only  the  most  avail- 
able and  most  useful  references  have  been  included. 

295 


296  Appendix  A 

1910.  SURFACE,  G.  T.     "The  Story  of  Sugar,"  pp.  238.     (New 

York  and  London.) 

1911.  JODIDI,  SAMUEL.     "The  Sugar  Beet  and  Beet  Sugar," 

pp.  76.     (Chicago.) 

1912.  BROWNE,  C.  A.     "A  Handbook  of  Sugar  Analysis,"  pp. 

787.     (New  York.) 

1912.  BLAKE Y,  R.  G.     "The  United  States  Beet  Sugar  Indus- 

try and  the  Tariff,"  pp.  286.     (New  York.) 

1913.  ADAMS,  R.  L.     "Field  Manual  for  Sugar-beet  Growers," 

pp.  134.     (Chicago.) 

1914.  MACKENZIE,  J.  E.     "The  Sugars  and  their  Simple  Deriva- 

tives," pp.  236.     (Philadelphia  and  London.) 

1915.  PALMER,    T.    G.     "Concerning   Sugar."     (Washington.) 

A  loose  leaf  service. 

1917.  ROLPH,   G.   M.     "Something  About   Sugar,"   pp.   341. 

(San  Francisco.) 

1918.  PALMER,    T.    G.     "Sugar-beet   Seed,"    pp.    120.     (New 

York.) 

Periodicals 

Facts  About  Sugar  (New  York). 

Published  weekly  in  the  interest  of  American  sugar  production. 
Sugar  (Chicago). 

Published  weekly.     An  English-Spanish  technical  journal  de- 
voted to  sugar  production. 
The  Louisiana  Planter  and  Sugar  Manufacturer  (New  Orleans  and 

Havana). 

Published  weekly.     Chief  interest  is  sugar-cane  but  devotes 
some  space  to  sugar-beets.    A  Spanish  edition  is  published 
monthly  under  the  name  of  El  Mundo  Azucarero. 
Through  the  Leaves  (Longmont,  Colorado). 

Published  monthly  by  the  Great  Western  Sugar  Company  in 

the  interest  of  sugar-beet  production. 
Willett  and  Gray's  Statistical  Sugar  Trade  Weekly  Journal  (New 

York). 

Gives  data  on  world  market  conditions  and  supply  of  sugar. 
The  International  Sugar  Journal  (London,  England). 
A  monthly  technical  and  commercial  periodical  devoted  to 

sugar  problems  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  Australian  Sugar  Journal  (Brisbane,  Queensland,  Australia). 
Published  monthly. 


Appendix  A  297 


Bulletins,  Reports,  Etc. 

1838.    "Report  on  Mulberry  and  Sugar  Beet."     April 20, 1838. 

U.  S.  25th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  Reports  of  Committees,  Vol. 

3,  No.  815. 
1853.   WILSON,  JOHN.    "Manufacture  of  Sugar  from  Beet  Root." 

Trans.  N.  Y.  State  Agr.  Soc.,  Vol.  13,  pp.  114-136. 

1861.  "Beet  —  Its  Culture,  Properties,  and  Qualities."     Ohio 

State  Board  of  Agr.,  16th  Ann.  Rept.,  pp.  179-205. 

1862.  "Beet  Sugar."    Ohio  State  Board  of  Agr.,  17th  Ann.  Rept., 

pp.  197-224. 

1864.  "On  the  Beet  Root  as  a  Source  of  Sugar."     Maine  Board 

of  Agr.,  9th  Ann.  Rpt.,  pp.  168-171. 

1865.  "Sugar  Beets."     Ohio  State  Board  of  Agr.,  20th  Ann. 

Rept.,  pp.  133-135. 

"Analyses  of  Sugar  Beets."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Ann. 
Rpt.  1865,  pp.  46-48. 

1868.  BIBBECK,  JOHN.     "  Manufacture  of  the  Sugar  Beet  in  the 

U.  S."     Jour.  Franklin  Inst.,  Phil.,  Vol.  85,  p.  44. 

1869.  "Beet-root  Sugar."     Michigan  Sta.  Board  of  Agr.,  8th 

Ann.  Rpt.,  pp.  216-225. 

DEBT,  JULIEN  M.  "American  Beet-root  Sugar."  Scien- 
tific American,  Vol.  20.  A  series  of  11  articles  scattered 
through  the  volume  from  pp.  57  to  354. 

1871.  GOESSMANN,  C.  A.     "Report  on  the  Production  of  Beet 

Sugar  as  an  Agricultural  Enterprise  in  Massachusetts." 
Mass.  Agr.  Coll.,  8th  Ann.  Rpt.  of  Board  of  Trustees, 
pp.  43-80. 

1872.  GOESSMANN,  C.  A.     "  Report  of  Sugar  Beets  Raised  on  the 

College  Farm."  Mass.  Agr.  Coll.,  9th  Ann.  Rpt., 
Board  of  Trustees,  pp.  31-63. 

1873.  "Sugar-beet  Machinery."     Mass.  Agr.  Coll.,  10th  Ann. 

Rpt.,  Board  of  Trustees,  pp.  87-93. 

1874.  GOESSMANN,  C.  A.     "  Report  of  Experiments  with  Sugar 

Beets."  Mass.  Agr.  Coll.,  llth  Ann.  Rpt.,  Board  of 
Trustees,  pp.  41-52. 

1876.    GOESSMANN,  C.  A.     "Experiments  in  the  Cultivation  of 
Sugar-beet  Roots  in  the  State  of  N.  Y."     Trans.  N.  Y. 
State  Agr.  Soc.,  Vol.  32,  pp.  163-169. 
BRACKETT,  G.  E.     "Beet  Sugar."     Maine  State  Board  of 
Agr.,  21st  Ann.  Rpt.,  pp.  80-84. 


298  Appendix  A 

1876.  AUBERT,  A.  B.     "Notes  upon  the  Culture  and  Manipula- 

tion of  Sugar  Beets."     Maine  State  Board  of  Agr.,  21st 
Ann.  Rpt.,  pp.  166-178. 

1877.  HUMPHREY,  H.  C.     "Beet-sugar  Interest."     Penn.  State 

Board  of  Agr.,  1st  Ann.  Rpt.,  pp.  225-229. 

1878.  DEMERITTE,  ALBERT.   "  Sugar-beet  Culture."  New  Hamp- 

shire State  Board  of  Agr.,  8th  Ann.  Rpt.,  pp.  413-416. 
GENNERT,  E.  T.  "Beet-sugar  Industry  in  Maine." 

Maine  State  Board  of  Agr.,  23d  Ann.  Rpt.,  pp.  174-181. 
HUMPHREY,  H.  C.  "Culture  of  Sugar  Beets  and  Sugar 

Manufacture."     Conn.  Board  of  Agr.,  llth  Ann.  Rpt., 

pp.  93-97. 

1879.  GOESSMANN,  C.  A.     "On  the  Cultivation  of  Sugar  Beets 

and  the  Manufacture  of  Sugar."     Mass.  State  Board 
of  Agr.,  27th  Rpt.,  pp.  378-402. 

1880.  MCMURTRIE,  WM.     "Report  of  the  Culture  of  the  Sugar 

Beet  and    the  Manufacture  of    Sugar  Therefrom    in 

France  and  the  United  States."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr., 

Special  Report  No.  28. 
1882.   GENNERT,   E.   T.     "Beet-sugar  Industry   in   America." 

Trans.  N.  Y.  State  Agr.  Soc.,  Vol.  33,  pp.  75-83. 
WARE,  L.  S.,  and  GRINSHAW,  R.   "Sugar-beet  Industry." 

Jour.  Franklin  Inst.,  Vol.  113,  pp.  292-298. 
1884.   WILEY,  H.W.     "Northern  Sugar  Industry."     U.  S.  Dept. 

of  Agr.,  Div.  of  Chem.,  Bui.  No.  3,  pp.  24^27. 
1887.   HILGARD,  E.  W.     "Sugar  Beets  at  Fresno."     Cal.  Sta. 

Bui.  No.  72. 
SPRECKLES,  C.     "Letter  on  Cultivation  of  Sugar  Beets." 

Trans.  Calif.  State  Agr.  Soc.,  1887,  pp.  222-223. 

1889.  CASSIDY,  JAS.,  and  O'BRINE,  D.     "Potatoes  and  Sugar 

Beets."     Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  7. 

ALMY,  A.  H.     "Growth  of  the  Beet-sugar  Industry." 
Pop.  Sci.  Monthly,  Vol.  35,  pp.  85-92  and  199-211. 

1890.  WILEY,  H.  W.     "The  Sugar-beet  Industry."     U.  S.  Dept. 

of  Agr.,  Div.  of  Chem.,  Bui.  No.  27. 
WILEY,  H.  W.     "Experiments  with  Sugar  Beets  in  1890." 

U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Div.  of  Chem.,  Bui.  No.  30. 
O'BRINE,  D.     "Sugar  Beets."     Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  11. 
NICHOLSON,  H.  H.,  and  LLOYD,  R.     "  Experiments  in  the 

Culture  of  Sugar  Beets  in  Nebraska."     Neb.  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  13. 


Appendix  A  299 

1890.  "Experiments  with  Sugar  Beets."     Kansas  Sta.  3d  Ann. 

Rpt.,  pp.  145-149. 
PATRICK,  G.  E.     "  Sugar  Beets."     Iowa  Sta.  Bui.  No.  8. 

1891.  PATRICK,   G.   E.,  and   EATON,   E.   N.     "Sugar   Beets." 

Iowa  Sta.  Bui.  No.  12. 
WILSON,  JAS.     "Sugar  Beet  Growing."     Iowa  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  15. 
WILEY,  H.  W.     "  Culture  of  Sugar  Beets."     U.  S.  Dept.  of 

Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  3. 
JAMES,  C.  C.     "Pitting  the  Sugar  Beet."     Ontario  Exp. 

Sta.  Bui.  63. 
HENRY,   W.   A.     "Sugar  Beet   Culture  in   Wisconsin." 

Wis.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  26. 
MCLAREN,  DICE,  and  SLOSSON,  E.  E.     "The  Sugar  Beet 

in  Wyoming."     Wyo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  3. 
O'BRINE,  D.     "Progress  Bulletin  on  Sugar  Beets."     Colo. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  14. 
HUSTON,  H.  A.     "Sugar  Beets."     Ind.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  34, 

pp.  57-65. 
MCDOWELL,  R.  H.     "Sugar-beet  Culture."     Nev.  Sta. 

Bui.  No.  13. 
NICHOLSON,  H.  H.,  and  LLOYD,  R.     "Experiments  in  the 

Culture  of  Sugar  Beets  in  Nebraska."     Neb.  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  16. 
HARPER,    D.  N.,   and    HAYS,   W.  M.     "Sugar    Beets." 

Minn.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  14. 

KEDZIE,  R.  C.     "Beet  Sugar."     Mich.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  71. 
KEDZIE,  R.  C.     "Sugar  Beets,  Results  for  1891."     Mich. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  82. 
"Experiments  with   Sorghum   and   with   Sugar  Beets." 

Kansas  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  31. 

1892.  BRUNER,  L.     "Notes  on  Certain  Caterpillars  Attacking 

Sugar  Beets.'^     Neb.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  24. 
Fox,  C.  P.     "Sugar  Beets."     Mo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  17. 
HARPER,  D.  N.     "Sugar  Beets."     Minn.  Sta.  Bui.  No. 

21. 
FAILYER,  G.  H.,  and  WILLARD,  J.  T.     "Experiments  with 

Sugar  Beets."     Kas.  Sta.  Bui.  Nos.  31  and  36. 
HUSTON,  H.  A.     "Sugar  Beets."     Ind.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  39. 
WOLL,  F.  W.     "Sugar  Beet  Experiments  in  Wisconsin  in 

1891."     Wis.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  30. 


300  Appendix  A 

1892.  Goss,  A.     "Experiments  with  Sugar  Beets."     New  Mex. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  8,  pp.  33-34. 
SHAW,  G.  W.,  and  LOTZ,  DUMONT.     "  Sugar  Beets."     Ore. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  17. 
SLOSSON,  E.  E.     "Sugar  Beets  in  1892."     Wyo.  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  9. 
WILEY,  H.  W.     "Experiments  with  Sugar  Beets  in  1891." 

U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  Chem.,  Bui.  33. 
WATKOUS,  F.  L.     "Sugar-beet  Culture."     Colo.  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  21. 
HICKMAN,  J.  F.     "  Mangold  Wurzels  and  Sugar  Beets." 

Ohio  Sta.  Bui.,  ser.  2,  b.  5,  No.  2. 
LADD,    E.    F.     "Sugar   Beets;     Experiments   in    North 

Dakota  in  1891."     N.  D.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  5. 
MCDOWELL,  R.  H.,  and  WILSON,  N.  E.     "Sugar  Beets." 

Nev.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  19. 
NICHOLSON,  H.  H.,  and  LLOYD,  R.     "Experiments  in  the 

Culture  of  Sugar  Beets  in  Nebraska."     Neb.  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  21. 

1893.  WILEY,  H.  W.,  and  MAXWELL,  W.     "Experiments  with 

Sugar  Beets  in   1892."     U.   S.  Dept.    of   Agr.,  Bur. 

Chem.,  Bui.  No.  36. 
SHAW,  G.  W.     "Sugar  Beets  in  Oregon."     Ore.  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  23. 
MCDOWELL,  R.  H.,  and  WILSON,  N.  E.     "Sugar  Beets." 

Nev.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  23. 
NICHOLSON,  H.  H.,  and  LYON,  T.  L.     "Experiments  in  the 

Culture  of  Sugar  Beets  in  Nebraska."     Neb.  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  27. 
FAILYEB,  G.  H.,  and  WILLAED,  J.  T.     "Experiments  with 

Sugar  Beets."     Kas.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  43. 
PATRICK,  G.  E.,  HEILEMAN,  W.  H.,  and  EATON,  E.  N. 

"Sugar  Beets  in  Iowa,  1892."  Iowa  Sta.  Bui.  No.  20. 
HUSTON,  H.  A.  "Sugar  Beets."  Ind.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  43. 
GIRD,  R.  "Culture  of  Sugar  Beets."  Trans.  Calif.  State 

Agr.  Soc.  1893,  pp.  102-107. 

1894.  WILEY,  H.  W.,  and  MAXWELL,  W.     "Experiments  with 

Sugar  Beets  in  1893."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Div.  of 
Chem.,  Bui.  No.  39. 

WILSON,   N.   E.     "Sugar  Beets."    Nev.  Sta.   Bui.  No. 
23. 


Appendix  A  301 

1894.  ROBERTS,  I.  P.     "Cooperative  Tests  of  Sugar  Beets." 

Cornell  Sta.  Bui.  No.  63. 

NICHOLSON,  H.  H.,  and  NICHOLSON,  E.  E.  "Experiments 
in  the  Culture  of  Sugar  Beets  in  Nebraska."  Neb. 
Sta.  Bui.  No.  36. 

NICHOLSON,  H.  H.  "Nebraska  and  the  Beet-sugar  In- 
dustry." Neb.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  38. 

PATRICK,  G.  E.,  and  PAGELSEN,  O.  H.  "Sugar  Beets  in 
Iowa,  1893."  Iowa  Sta.  Bui.  No.  23. 

FULMER,  E.     "Sugar  Beets."     Wash.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  15. 

SLOSSON,  E.  E.  "Sugar  Beets  in  1893."  Wyo.  Sta.  Bui. 
No.  17. 

1895.  HUSTON,  H.  A.     "Experiments  with  Sugar  Beets."     Ind. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  55. 

1896.  WILSON,  W.  E.     "Sugar  Beets."     Nev.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  32. 
FULMER,  ELTON.     "Experiments  in  the  Culture  of  Beets 

in  Washington."     Wash.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  26. 
NICHOLSON,  H.  H.,  and  LYON,  T.  L.     "Experiments  in  the 

Culture  of  Sugar  Beets  in  Nebraska."     Neb.  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  44. 
SOWERS,    E.     "Sugar,    An    Industrial    Opportunity   for 

America."     North  Am.  Rev.,  Vol.   163,  pp.  316-325. 

1897.  WIDTSOE,  J.  A.     "Utah  Sugar  Beets."     Utah  Sta.  Bui. 

No.  53. 
MCDOWELL,  R.  H.,  and  WILSON,  N.  E.     "Sugar  Beets." 

Nev.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  37. 
WATERS,  H.  J.     "The  Sugar  Beet."     Mo.  Sta.  Bui.  No. 

40. 
WATROUS,  F.  L.     "Sugar  Beets."     Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No. 

36. 

DEVOL,  W.  S.     "Sugar  Beets."     Ariz.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  23. 
HENRY,  W.  A.     "Beet-sugar  Production;     Possibilities 

for  a  New  Industry  in  Wisconsin."     Wis.  Sta.  Bui.  No. 

55. 
SHAW,  G.  W.     "Review  of  Oregon  Sugar  Beets."     Ore. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  44. 
VAN  SLYKE,  L.   L.,   JORDAN,   W.   H.,   and   CHURCHILL. 

"The  Composition  and  Production  of  Sugar  Beets." 

N.  Y.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  135. 
MARROW,  G.  E.,  and  BONE,  J.  H.     "Experiments  with 

Field  Crops."     Okla.  Sta.  Bui.  No,  33. 


302  Appendix  A 

1897.  ARMSBY,   W.  P.     "The  Sugar  Beet  in  Pennsylvania." 

Penn.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  40. 

FULMEE,  E.  "Irrigation  Experiments  in  Sugar-beet  Cul- 
ture in  North  Yakima  Valley."  Wash.  Sta.  Bui.  No. 
31. 

1898.  MCDOWELL,  R.  H.,  and  WILSON,  N.  E.     "Sugar  Beets." 

Nev.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  43. 
FOSTER,  LUTHER.     "Sugar  Beets  in   1898."     Utah  Sta. 

Bui.  No.  59. 
STONE,  J.  L.     "Sugar-beet  Investigations."     Cornell  Sta. 

Bui.  No.  143. 
HEADDEN,  W.  P.     "A  Soil  Study."     "The  Crop  Grown  : 

Sugar  Beets."     Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  46. 
HALL,  F.  H.,  and  VAN  SLYKE,  L.  L.     "Sugar  Beet  Success 

for  the  Season."     N.  Y.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  155. 
WOLL,  F.  W.     "Sugar  Beet  Investigations  in  Wisconsin 

during  1898."     Wis.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  64. 
Goss,  A.     "New  Mexico  Sugar  Beets."     New  Mex.  Sta. 

Bui.  No.  26. 
SELBY,  A.  D.,  and  BLOOMFIELD,   L.   M.     "Sugar  Beet 

Investigations  in  1897."     Ohio  Sta.  Bui.  No.  90. 
SLOSSON,  E.  E.     "Wyoming  Sugar  Beets."     Wyo.  Sta. 

Bui.  No.  36. 
WILEY,  H.  W.     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.     "Special  Report  on 

the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  in  the  United  States." 
SAYLOR,  C.  F.     "Progress  of  the  Beet-sugar  Industry  in 

the   United   States   in    1898."     Government   Printing 

Office. 
Goss,  A.,  and  HOLT,  A.  M.     "New  Mexico  Sugar  Beets 

(1898)."     New  Mexico  Sta.  Bui.  No.  29. 
HOLDEN,  P.  G.,  and  HOPKINS,  C.  G.     "The  Sugar  Beet  in 

Illinois."     111.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  49. 

1898.  SNYDER,  HARRY.     "Sugar  Beets,  Summary  of  Investiga- 

tions from  1888  to  1898."     Minn.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  56. 
WIDTSOE,  J.  A.     "Sugar  Beets."     Utah  Sta.  Bui.  No.  53. 

1899.  MCCLATCHIE,  A.  J.     "Sugar  Beet  Experiments  during 

1899."     Ariz.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  31. 
WILSON,  N.  E.,  and  MCDOWELL,  R.  H.     "Sugar  Beets." 

Nev.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  44. 
SELBY,   A.  D.     "Sugar   Beet    Investigations    in    1898." 

Ohio  Sta.  Bui.  No.  99. 


Appendix  A  303 

1899.  WOLL,  F.  W.     "Sugar  Beet  Investigations  in  Wisconsin 

during  1898."     Wis.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  71. 

DUGGAR,  B.  M.  "Fungous  Diseases  of  the  Sugar  Beet." 
Cornell  Sta.  Bui.  No.  163. 

STONE,  J.  L.  "Sugar  Beet  Investigations  for  1898." 
Cornell  Sta.  Bui.  No.  166. 

WILEY,  H.  W.  "Experiments  with  Sugar  Beets  in  1897." 
U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Div.  of  Chem.,  Bui.  No.  52. 

COOKE,  W.  W.  "Sugar  Beets  in  Colorado  in  1898." 
Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  51. 

WATERS,  H.  J.  "The  Sugar  Beet."  Mo.  Sta.  Bui.  No. 
45. 

SHAW,  G.  W.  "Sugar-beet  Experiments  in  1898."  Ore. 
Sta.  Bui.  No.  59. 

ARMSBY,  W.  P.,  and  HESS,  E.  H.  "Tests  of  the  Sugar 
Beet  in  Pennsylvania."  Penn.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  47. 

FOSTER,  L.  "Sugar  Beets  in  1898."  Utah  Sta.  Bui.  No. 
59. 

FOSTER,  L.  "Sugar  Beets  in  Sanpete  and  Sevier  Coun- 
ties." Utah  Sta.  Bui.  No.  63. 

STEWART,  J.  J.,  and  HITE,  B.  H.  "Sugar  Beet  Investiga- 
tions in  1898."  West  Va.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  55. 

1900.  FORBES,  S.  A.,  and  HART,  C.  A.     "The  Economic  Ento- 

mology of  the  Sugar  Beet."     111.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  60. 
HEADDEN,  W.  P.     "A  Soil  Study.     The  Crop   Grown: 

Sugar  Beets."     Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  58. 
MCDOWELL,  R.  H.,  and  WILSON,  N.  E.     "Sugar  Beets." 

Nev.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  50. 
SELBY,  A.  D.     "Sugar  Beet  and  Sorghum  Investigations 

in  1899."     Ohio  Sta.  Bui.  No.  115. 
WING,  H.  H.,  and  ANDERSON,  L.     "Sugar-beet  Pulp  as  a 

Food  for  Cows."     Cornell  Sta.  Bui.  No.  183. 
TOWAR,  J.  D.     "Sugar  Beet  Investigations."     Mich.  Sta. 

Bui.  No.  179. 

STONE,  J.  L.,  and  CLINTON,  L.  A.  "Sugar  Beet  Investiga- 
tions for  1899."  Cornell  Sta.  Bui.  No.  182. 

1901.  SELBY,  A.  D.,  and  AMES,  J.  W.     "Sugar-beet  Investiga- 

tions in  Ohio  in  1900."     Ohio  Sta.  Bui.  No.  126. 
WILEY,   H.  W.     "Influence  of  Environment  upon  the 
Composition  of   Sugar  Beets,  1900."     U.  S.  Dept.  of 
Agr.,  Bur.  of  Chem.,  Bui.  No.  64. 


304  Appendix  A 

1901.  HEADDEN,    W.    P.      "Sugar   Beets."      Colo.    Sta.   Bui. 

No.  63. 

WITHERS,  W.  A.     "The  Sugar  Beet  in  North  Carolina." 
N.  C.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  180. 

1902.  GRIFFIN,  H.  H.     "Feeding  Beet  Pulp  to  Lambs."     Colo. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  76. 
MCCLATCHIE,  A.  J.     "Irrigation  at  Station  Farm,  1898- 

1901."     Ariz.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  41. 
TOWAR,    J.    D.     "Sugar    Beet     Experiments."      1901. 

Mich.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  197. 
AMES,  J.  W.     "Sugar  Beet  Investigations  in  1901."     Ohio 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  132. 
FREAR,  W.,  and  CARTER,  W.  T.     "Pennsylvania  Sugar 

Beets  in  1901."     Penn.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  59. 
TRAPHAGEN,  F.  W.     "Sugar  Beets  in  Montana."     Mont. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  33. 
LYON,  T.  L.,  and  WIANCKO,  A.  T.     "Experiments  in  the 

Culture  of  the  Sugar  Beet  in  Nebraska."     Neb.  Sta. 

Bul.  No.  73. 
WIDTSOE,  J.  A.     "  Irrigation  Investigations."     Utah  Sta. 

Bul.  No.  80. 

1903.  LYON,  T.  L.,  and  WIANCKO,  A.  T.     "Experiments  on  the 

Culture  of  Sugar  Beets  in  Nebraska."     Neb.  Sta.  Bul. 

No.  81. 
CHITTENDEN,  F.  H.     "The  Principal  Insect  Enemies  of 

the  Sugar  Beet."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Div.  of  Ent., 

Bul.  No.  43. 
WILEY,  H.  W.     "The  Influence  of  Soil  and  Climate  upon 

the  Composition  of  the  Sugar   Beet,    1901."      U.  S. 

Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Chem.,  Bul.  No.  74. 
SHAW,  G.  W.     "The  California  Sugar  Industry."     Calif. 

Sta.  Bul.  No.  149. 
WILEY,  H.  W.     "The  Influence  of  Environment  upon  the 

Composition  of  the  Sugar  Beet,  1902,  Including  a  Study 

of  the  Irrigated  Sections."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of 

Chem.,  Bul.  No.  78. 
TOWNSEND,  C.  O.     "Relation  of  Sugar  Beets  to  General 

Farming."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.  Yearbook,  1903,  pp. 

399-410. 
SMITH,  C.  D.     "Sugar-beet  Experiments,  1902."     Mich. 

Sta.  Bul.  No.  207. 


Appendix  A  305 

1904.  RUTTER,  F.  R.     "  International  Sugar  Situation."     U.S. 

Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Statistics,  Bui.  No.  30. 

SAYLOR,  C.  T.  "Methods  and  Benefits  of  Growing  Sugar 
Beets."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Off.  of  Sec.,  Circ.  No.  11. 

TRACY,  J.  E.  W.  "Sugar-beet  Seed  Breeding."  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agr.  Yearbook,  1904,  pp.  341-352. 

TRAPHAGEN,  F.  W.  "Sugar  Beets."  Mont.  Sta.  Bui. 
No.  52. 

SHAW,  R.  S.  "Dried  Beet  Pulp  and  Dried  Molasses-Beet- 
Pulp  for  Fattening  Sheep."  Mich.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  220. 

SMITH,  C.  D.  "Experiments  with  Sugar  Beets  in  1903." 
Mich.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  215. 

MERRILL,  L.  A.,  and  CLARK,  R.  W.  "Feeding  Beet  Mo- 
lasses and  Pulp  to  Sheep  and  Steers."  Utah  Sta.  Bui. 
No.  90. 

1905.  TOWNSEND,  C.  0.,  and  RITTUE.     "The  Development  of 

Single-germ  Beet  Seed."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of 
PL  Ind.,  Bui.  No.  73. 

CARLYLE,  W.  L.,  and  GRIFFITH,  C.  J.  "Feeding  Steers  on 
Sugar-beet  Pulp,  Alfalfa  Hay,  and  Ground  Corn." 
Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  102. 

BILLINGS,  G.  A.  I.  "Dried  Beet  Pulp  as  a  Substitute  for 
Corn  Silage."  II.  "Dried  Beet  Pulp  vs.  Dried  Mo- 
lasses Beet  Pulp."  III.  "Dried  Molasses  Beet  Pulp  vs. 
Hominy  Meal."  N.  J.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  189. 

WOLL,  F.  W.,  and  HUMPHREY,  G.  C.  "Dried  Beet  Pulp 
or  Molasses  Beet  Pulp  for  Dairy  Cows."  Wis.  Ann. 
Rpt.,  1905,  pp.  108-117. 

HILLS,  J.  L.  "Feeding  Value  of  Dried  Molasses  Beet- 
Pulp."  Vt.  17th  Ann.  Rpt.  (1904),  p.  484. 

SHAW,  G.  W.  "Tolerance  of  the  Sugar  Beet  for  Alkali." 
Cal.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  169. 

WOLL,  F.  W.  "The  Beet-sugar  Industry  of  Wisconsin." 
Wis.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  123. 

WILEY,  H.  W.  "The  Influence  of  Environment  Upon 
the  Composition  of  the  Sugar  Beet,  1903."  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Chem.,  Bui.  No.  95. 

WILEY,  H.  W.  "The  Influence  of  Environment  on  the 
Composition  of  the  Sugar  Beet,  1904,  Together  with  a 
Summary  of  the  Five-year  Investigation."  U.  S.  Dept. 
of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Chem.,  Bui.  No.  96. 


306  Appendix  A 

1906.  BALL,  E.  D.     "The  Beet  Leafhopper."    Utah  Sta.  16th 

Ann.  Rpt.,  p.  16. 
SHAW,  G.  W.     "Sugar  Beets  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley." 

Calif.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  176. 
HARRISON,  G.  B.     "The  Beet-sugar  Industry  in  Kansas." 

Rpt.  Kas.  State  Board  of  Agr.,  Vol.  25,  No.  99,  pp.  3-32 

(Sept.  1906). 
TOWNSEND,  C.  O.     "Methods  of  Reducing  the  Cost  of 

Producing  Sugar  Beets."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.  Year- 
book, 1906,  pp.  265-278. 
DANIELSON,  A.  H.  "Fertilizer  Experiments  with  Sugar 

Beets."     Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  115. 
CLARK,    R.    W.     "Feeding    Experiments    with    Cattle, 

Sheep,  Swine,  and  Horses."    Utah  Sta.  Bui.  No.  101. 

1907.  FRABER,  S.,  GILMORE,  J.  W.,  and  CLARK,  C.  F.     "Culture 

and  Varieties  of  Roots  for  Stock-Feeding."  Cornell 
Sta.  Bui.  No.  244. 

SAYLOR,  C.  F.  "Progress  of  the  Beet-sugar  Industry  in 
the  United  States  in  1906."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Re- 
port No.  84. 

SHAW,  R.  S.,  and  NORTON,  H.  W.,  Jr.  "Dried  Beet  Pulp 
for  Fattening  Steers."  Mich.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  247. 

WOLL,  F.  W.,  and  STODDART,  C.  W.  "Sugar-beet  Experi- 
ments During  1906."  Wis.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  150. 

1908.  TOWNSEND,  C.  O.     "By-products  of  the  Sugar  Beet  and 

their  Use."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.  Yearbook,  1908,  pp. 
443-452. 

SAYLOR,  C.  F.  "Progress  of  the  Beet-sugar  Industry  in 
the  United  States  in  1907."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Re- 
port No.  86. 

SHEPARD,  J.  H.  "Sugar  Beets  in  South  Dakota."  S.  D. 
Sta.  Bui.  No.  106. 

1909.  TOWNSEND,  C.  O.     "Conditions  Influencing  the  Produc- 

tion of  Sugar-beet  Seed  in  the  United  States."     U.  S. 

Dept.  of  Agr.  Yearbook,  1909,  pp.  173-184. 
CARLYLE,  W.  L.,  and  MORTON,  G.  E.     "Carrying  Range 

Steers  Through  Winter  and  Sugar  Beets  for  Fattening 

Steers."     Colo.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  149. 
BALL,  E.  D.     "The  Leaf  hoppers  of  the  Sugar  Beet  and 

their  Relation  to  the  Curly-leaf  Condition."     U.  S. 

Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Ent.,  Bui.  No.  66,  Pt.  4. 


Appendix  A  307 

1909.  SHEPARD,  J.  H.     "Sugar  Beets  in  South  Dakota."     South 

Dakota  Sta.  Bui.  No.  117. 
SAYLOB,  C.  F.    "Progress  of  the  Beet-sugar  Industry  in  the 

United  States  in  1908."    U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Report  No.90. 
TOWNSEND,  C.  O.     "The  Sugar  Beet."     Cyc.  Am.  Agr., 

Vol.  II,  pp.  588-595. 
CHAMBERLAIN,  G.  M.,  Jr.     "The  Manufacture  of  Beet 

Sugar."     Cyc.  Am.  Agr.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  595-599. 

1910.  SAYLOR,  C.  F.     "Progress  of  the  Beet-sugar  Industry  in 

the  United  States  in  1909."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Re- 
port No.  92. 

WILEY,  H.  W.  "The  Sugar  Beet."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr., 
Farmers'  Bui.  No.  52  (Revised). 

SHEPARD,  J.  H.  "Growing  Sugar-beet  Seed  in  South 
Dakota."  S.  D.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  121. 

SHAW,  H.  B.  "The  Curly  Top  of  Beets."  U.  S.  Dept. 
of  Agr.,  Bur.  Plant  Ind.,  Bui.  No.  181. 

ROEDING,  F.  W.  "Irrigation  of  Sugar  Beets."  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  392. 

1911.  KNIGHT,  C.  S.     "The  Sugar-beet  Industry  in  Nevada." 

Nev.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  75. 

SHEPARD,  J.  H.  "Growing  Pedigreed  Sugar-beet  Seed  in 
South  Dakota."  S.  D.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  129. 

1912.  WIDTSOE,  J.  A.,  et  al.     "Irrigation  Studies."     Utah  Sta. 

Buls.  Nos.  116,  117,  118,  119,  and  120.     (1912.) 
UNDERWOOD,  O.  W.,  et  al.     "Placing  Sugar  on  the  Free 

List."     Report  of  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

U.  S.  House  of  Rep.,  62d  Congress,  2d  Session,  Report 

No.  391,  Mar.  5,  1912. 
FORDNEY,  J.  W.,  et  al.     "Placing  Sugar  on  the  Free  Last." 

Minority   Report,   Committee  on  Ways  and   Means, 

U.  S.  House  of  Rep.,  62d  Congress,  2d  Session,  Report 

No.  391,  Part  2,  Mar.  7,  1912. 
ORTON,  W.  A.,  et  al.     "The  American  Beet-sugar  Industry 

in  1910  and  1911."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  PI. 

Ind.,  Bui.  No.  260. 
PALMER,  T.  G.     "Sugar  at  a  Glance."     Senate  Doc.  No. 

890,  62d  Congress,  2d  Session. 
HEADDEN,  W.  P.     "Deterioration  in  the  Quality  of  Sugar 

Beets  Due  to  Nitrates  Formed  in  the  Soil."     Colo. 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  183. 


308  Appendix  A 

1912.  LODGE,  H.  C.     "The  Sugar  Schedule."     Speech  before 

U.  S.  Senate,  July  27,  1912. 

1913.  CRITTENDEN,  F.  H.     "Principal  Enemies  of  the  Sugar 

Beet."     U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Ent.,  Bui.  No.  43, 

pp.  71. 
PALMER,  T.  G.     "The  Sugar  Beet  Industry  of  the  United 

States."     Published  by  the  Author,  Washington,  D.  C. 
PALMER,    T.  G.     "Reply  to    Criticism  of    Sugar  at    a 

Glance."       Published    by    the    Author,    Washington, 

D.C. 
BENZEL,  H.  H.     "A  Biochemical  Study  of  the  Curly-top 

of  Sugar  Beets."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bur.  of  PL  Ind., 

Bui.  No.  277. 
SHEPARD,  J.  H.     "Sugar-beet  Culture  in  South  Dakota." 

S.  D.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  142. 
ABEL,  M.  H.     "Sugar  and  Its  Value  as  a  Food."     U.  S. 

Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  535. 
EDSON.     "Damping-off  and  Root  Rot  Parasites  of  Sugar 

Beets."     Phytopathology,  Vol.  3,  No.  1,  p.  76. 
SMOOT,  REED.     "The  Wilson-Underwood  Tariff  Bill  and 

the  American  Sugar  Industry."     Speech,  U.  S.  Senate, 

Aug.  19,  1913. 

1914.  TOWNSEND,  C.  O.     "Leaf -spot,  a  Disease  of   the  Sugar 

Beet."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  618. 
TOWNSEND,  C.  O.     "Sugar-beet  Growing  under  Humid 

Conditions."      U.   S.    Dept.   of  Agr.,    Farmers'    Bui. 

No.  568. 

TOWNSEND,  C.  O.     "Sugar-beet  Growing  under  Irriga- 
tion."    U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  567. 
ANDREWS,  FRANK.     "Statistics  of  Sugar  in  the  United 

States  and  Its  Insular  Possessions,  1881-1912."     U.  S. 

Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  No.  66. 
SHAW,  H.  B.     "Thrips  as  Pollinators  of  Beet  Flowers." 

U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  No.  104. 
KNORR,  F.    ' '  Irrigated  Field  Crops  in  Western  Nebraska." 

Neb.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  141,  pp.  18-21. 

1915.  HARRIS,  F.  S.     "The  Commercial   Production  of   Sugar 

Beet  Seed  in  Utah."     Utah  Sta.  Bui.  No.  136. 
EDSON,  H.  A.     "Seedling  Diseases  of  Sugar  Beets  and 
their  Relation  to  the  Root-rot  and  Crown  Rot."     Jour. 
Agr.  Res.,  Vol.  4,  pp.  135-168  (May  15,  1915). 


Appendix  A  309 

1915.  BESSET,  E.  A.,  and  BYARS,  L.  P.     "The  Control  of  Root- 

knot."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  648. 

HARRIS,  F.  S.  "Effect  of  Alkali  Salts  in  the  Soil  on  the 
Germination  and  Growth  of  Crops."  Jour.  Agr.  Res., 
Vol.  5,  pp.  1-53  (Oct.  4,  1915). 

TOWNSEND,  C.  0.  "Field  Studies  of  the  Crown-gall 
of  Sugar  Beets."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  No. 
203. 

MILLIKEN,  F.  B.  "Grasshoppers  and  then*  Control  on 
Sugar  Beet  and  Truck  Crops."  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr., 
Farmers'  Bui.  No.  691. 

SHAW,  H.  B.  "Sugar  Beets:  Preventable  Losses  in  Cul- 
ture." U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  No.  238. 

INCE,  J.  W.  "Progress  Report  of  Sugar  Beet  Trials." 
N.  D.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  113. 

SHAW,  H.  B.  "Loss  in  Tonnage  of  Sugar  Beets  by  Dry- 
ing." U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  No.  199. 

HARTUNG,  W.  J.,  and  SEVERIN,  H.  H.  P.  "Natural  Ene- 
mies of  the  Sugar-beet  Leafhoppers  in  California." 
Monthly  Bui.,  Cal.  Com.  Hort.,  IV,  pp.  277-280. 

EDSON,  H.  A.  "  Histological  Relations  of  Sugar-beet 
Seedlings  and  Phoma  betae."  Jour.  Agr.  Res.,  Vol.  5, 
pp.  55-58  (Oct.  4,  1915). 

POOL,  V.  W.,  and  McKAT,  M.  B.  "Phoma  betae  on  the 
Leaves  of  the  Sugar  Beet."  Jour.  Agr.  Res.,  Vol.  4, 
pp.  169-177  (May  14,  1915). 

1916.  PRITCHARD,  F.  J.     "  Some  Recent  Investigations  in  Sugar 

Beet  Breeding."     Bot.  Gaz.,  Vol.  41,  No.  6,  pp.  425- 

465  (Dec.,  1916). 
PRITCHARD,  F.  J.,  and  LONGLT,  L.  E.     "Experiments  in 

Transplanting  Sugar  Beets."     Jour.  Am.  Soc.  Agron., 

Vol.  8,  No.  2,  pp.  106-110. 
SHAW,  H.  B.     "  Control  of  the  Sugar-beet  Nematode.1; 

U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  772. 
POOL,  V.  W.,  and  McKAY,  M.  B.     "  Relation  of  Stomatal 

Movement    to    Infection    by    Cercospora     beticola." 

Jour.   Agr.    Res.,    Vol.    5,    pp.    1011-1038    (Feb.    28, 

1916). 
POOL,  V.  W.,  and  McKAY,  M.  B.     "Climatic  Conditions 

as  Related  to  Cercospora  beticola."     Jour.  Agr.  Res., 

Vol.  6,  pp.  21-60  (Apr.  3,  1916). 


310  Appendix  A 

1916.  PRITCHARD,  F.  J.     "Correlations  between  Morphological 

Characters  and  the  Saccharine  Content  of  Sugar 
Beets."  Am.  Jour.  Botany,  Vol.  3,  pp.  361-376  (July, 
1916). 

HARRIS,  F.  S.,  and  HOGENSON,  J.  C.  "Some  Correlations 
in  Sugar  Beets."  Genetics,  Vol.  I,  pp.  334-347  (July, 
1916). 

PRITCHARD,  F.  J.  "Some  Recent  Investigations  in  Sugar- 
beet  Breeding."  Science,  N.  S.,  43,  p.  219. 

PECK,  F.  W.  "The  Cost  of  Producing  Sugar  Beets." 
Minn.  Sta.  Bui.  No.  154. 

TOWNSEND,  C.  O.  "The  Present  Status  of  the  Sugar- 
beet  Seed  Industry  in  the  United  States."  U.  S.  Dept. 
of  Agr.  Yearbook,  1916,  pp.  399-410. 

WHITE,  WM.  H.  "The  Sugar-beet  Thrips."  U.  S.  Dept. 
of  Agr.,  Bui.  No.  421. 

1917.  Federal  Trade  Commission,  "Report  on  the  Beet-sugar 

Industry  in  the  United  States."     Govt.  Printing  Office. 
HARRIS,  F.  S.     "The  Irrigation  of  Sugar  Beets."     Utah 

Sta.  Bui.  No.  146. 
BALL,  E.  D.     "The  Beet  Leafhopper  and  the  Curly-leaf 

Disease   That  It  Transmits."      Utah   Sta.   Bui.   No. 

155. 
TOWNSEND,  C.  0.,  and  GORE,  H.  C.     "Sugar-beet  Syrup." 

U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  No.  823. 
ELLIOTT,  PERRY.     "Production  of  Sugar  in  the  United 

States  and  Foreign  Countries."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr., 

Bui.  No.  473. 
SHEPARD,  J.  H.,  and  SHERWOOD,  R.  C.     "Sugar  Beets  in 

South  Dakota."     S.  D.  Bui.  No.  173. 
ADAMS,  R.  L.     "Fundamentals   of    Sugar-beet   Culture 

under  California  Conditions."     Calif.  Sta.  Cir.  165. 
PETRIKING,  W.  L.     "The  Beet  Sugar  Industry  and  Live 

Stock  Production."     Great  Western  Sugar  Co.,  Agr. 

Dept.,  Bui.  No.  2  (Jan.,  1917). 
PALMER,   T.   G.     "Questions  and  Answers   Concerning 

Sugar."     Published  by  the  Author,  Washington,  D.  C. 
The  World's  Sugar  Supply.     Published  by  the  National 

Bank  of  Commerce  in  N.  Y.  (Dec.,  1917). 
ANDREW,  FRANK.     "  Sugar  Supply  of  the  United  States." 

U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.  Yearbook,  1917,  pp.  447-460. 


Appendix  A  311 

1918.   WOJTA,  J.  F.,  and  WRIGHT,  A.  H.     "  How  to  Succeed  with 

Sugar  Beets."      Wis.  Ext.  Serv.  Circular  No.  103. 
JAVITZ,   C.    A.,  and    MASON,    A.  W.     "Sugar  Beets." 

Ontario  Agr.  College  Bui.  No.  262. 

MOORHOUSE,  L.  A.,  et  al.  "  Farm  Practice  in  Growing 
Sugar  Beets  for  Three  Districts  in  Utah  and  Idaho, 
1914-1915.':  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  No.  693. 


APPENDIX  B 

AMERICAN    BEET-SUGAR    COMPANIES  AND    FAC- 
TORIES,  JANUARY,    1918 

Compiled  by  Truman  G.  Palmer 

Alameda    Sugar    Company.     Executive    Office,  310    Sansome 
Street,  San  Francisco,  California,  Capital  $1,500,000. 

Factory                                   Erected  Capacity 

Alvarado,  Calif 1870  800  tons 

Rebuilt,  1879;  1887 

Amalgamated  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Ogden,  Utah. 
Capital,  $5,824,000. 

Factories                                Erected  Capacity 

Ogden,  Utah 1898  1,000  tons 

Logan,  Utah 1901  600  tons 

Lewiston,  Utah 1905  800  tons 

Burley,  Idaho 1912  600  tons 

Twin  Falls,  Idaho 1916  600  tons 

Brigham  City,  Utah     ....     1916  500  tons 

Paul,  Idaho 1917  500  tons 

Smithfield,  Utah 1917  500  tons 

American  Beet  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  32  Nassau 
Street,  New  York  City.    Capital,  $20,000,000. 

Factories                                Erected  Capacity 

Grand  Island,  Neb 1890  500  tons 

Chino,  Calif 1891  1,100  tons 

Oxnard,  Calif 1898  3,000  tons 

Rocky  Ford,  Colo 1900  1,800  tons 

Lamar,  Colo 1905  500  tons 

Las  Animas,  Colo 1907  1,000  tons 

312 


Appendix  B  313 

Anaheim   Sugar   Company.     Executive   Office,   Merchants   Na- 
tional Bank  Building,  Los  Angeles,  Calif.     Capital,  $547,800 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Anaheim,  Calif 1911  1,200  tons 


Chippewa    Sugar    Refining    Company.     Executive    Office,    428 
Grand  Avenue,  Milwaukee,  Wis.     Capital,  $500,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Chippewa  Falls,  Wis 1904  600  tons 


Columbia  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Bay  City,  Mich. 
Capital,  $3,000,000. 

Factories  Erected  Capacity 

Bay  City,  Mich 1901  1,500  tons 

Paulding,  Ohio 1910  900  tons 


Continental  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  520  Lafayette 
Boulevard,  Detroit,  Michigan.     Capital,  $1,732,400. 

Factories                                 Erected  Capacity 

Fremont,  Ohio 1900  468  tons 

Blissfield,  Mich 1905  868  tons 

Findlay,  Ohio 1911  871  tons 


Delta  Beet  Sugar  Corporation.     Executive  Office,  Delta,  Utah. 
Temporary  Corporation. 

Factory                                   Erected  Capacity 

Delta,  Utah 1917  1,000  tons 


Garden  City  Sugar  and  Land  Company.  Executive  Office,  Mining 
Exchange  Building,  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.  Capital, 
$2,677,200. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Garden  City,  Kansas    ....     1906  1,000  tons 


314  Appendix  B 

Great  Western  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Sugar  Build- 
ing, Denver,  Colo.     Capital,  $30,000,000. 

Factories  Erected  Capacity 

Loveland,  Colo 1901  1,950  tons 

Greeley,  Ohio 1902  1,050  tons 

Eaton,  Colo 1902  1,200  rons 

Ft.  Collins,  Colo 1903  2,150  tons 

Windsor,  Colo 1903  1,150  tons 

Longmont,  Colo 1903  2,350  tons 

Sterling,  Colo 1905  1,050  tons 

Brush,  Colo 1906  1,100  tons 

Ft.  Morgan,  Colo 1906  1,200  tons 

Billings,  Mont 1906  2,000  tons 

Scottsbluff,  Neb 1910  2,000  tons 

Lovell,  Wyoming 1916  600  tons 

Gering,  Neb 1916  1,100  tons 

Bayard,  Neb 1917  1,000  tons 

Missoula,  Mont 1917  1,000  tons 

Brighton,  Colo 1917  1,000  tons 

Holland-St.  Louis  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Holland, 
Mich.     Capital,  $1,695,340. 

Factories  Erected  Capacity 

Holland,  Mich 1899  500  tons 

St.  Louis,  Mich 1903  600  tons 

Decatur,  Ind 1912  800  tons 

Holly  Sugar  Corporation.     Executive  Office,  Boston  Building, 
Denver,  Colo.     Capital,  $4,781,700  outstanding. 

Factories  Erected  Capacity 

Grand  Junction,  Colo.1      .     .     .     1899  700  tons 

Swink,  Colo 1906  1,200  tons 

Huntington  Beach,  Calif.       .     .     1911  1,200  tons 

Independent    Sugar    Company.     Executive    Office,    Bay    City, 
Michigan. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Marine  City,  Mich 1900  600  tons 

1  Leased  by  Holly  Sugar  Corporation. 


Appendix  B  315 

Iowa  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Waverly,  Iowa.     Capi- 
tal, $550,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Waverly,  Iowa 1907  500  tons 

Layton  Sugar  Company.    Executive  Office,  Layton,  Utah.    Capi- 
tal, $500,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Layton,  Utah 1915  700  tons 

Los  Alamitos  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Pacific  Electric 
Building,  Los  Angeles,  Calif.     Capital,  $500,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Los  Alamitos,  Calif 1897  800  tons 

Menominee  River  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Menomi- 
nee,  Mich.     Capital,  $825,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Menominee,  Mich 1903  1,200  tons 

Michigan  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Union  Trust  Build- 
ing, Detroit,  Mich.     Capital,  $11,174,600. 

Factories  Erected  Capacity 

Bay  City,  Mich 1899  1,400  tons 

Alma,  Mich 1899  1,400  tons 

Caro,  Mich 1899  1,200  tons 

Carrollton,  Mich 1902  900  tons 

Croswell,  Mich 1902  750  tons 

Sebewaing,  Mich 1902  850  tons 

Minnesota  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Chaska,   Minn. 
Capital,  $1,200,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Chaska,  Minn 1906  800  tons 

Mt.    Clemens   Sugar    Company.     Executive    Office,    Bay    City, 
Mich.     Capital,  $600,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Mt.  Clemens,  Mich.  1902  600  tons 


316  Appendix  B 

National    Sugar    Manufacturing    Company.     Executive    Office, 
Sugar  City,  Colo.     Capital,  $750,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Sugar  City,  Colo .     1900  500  tons 


Nevada-Utah  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah.     Capital,  $500,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Fallon,  Nevada 1911  500  tons 

(Control  acquired  by  Utah-Idaho  Sugar  Company,  1916) 


Northern   Sugar   Corporation.     Executive   Office,   Union   Trust 
Building,  Detroit,  Mich.     Capital,  $1,250,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Mason  City,  Iowa 1917  1,200  tons 


Ohio  Sugar  Company.    Executive  Office,  Ottawa,  Ohio.     Capital, 
$400,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Ottawa,  Ohio  .......     1912  600  tons 

Remodeled  1917 


Owosso  Sugar   Company.     Executive  Office,  Bay  City,  Mich. 
Capital,  $1,875,000. 

Factories  Erected  Capacity 

Lansing,  Mich 1901  600  tons 

Owosso,  Mich 1903  1,200  tons 


Pacific  Sugar  Corporation.     Executive  Office,  74  New  Montgom- 
ery Street,  San  Francisco,  Calif.     Capital,  $2,000,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Tracy,  Calif 1917  600  tons 


Appendix  B  317 

People's   Sugar   Company.     Executive   Office,    712   Mclntyre 
Building,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah.     Capital,  $765,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Moroni,  Utah 1917  400  tons 

Pingree  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  311  California  Street, 
San  Francisco,  Calif.     Capital,  $1,000,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Corcoran,  Calif 1908  600  tons 

Charles  Pope.     Executive  Office,  332  South  Michigan  Avenue, 
Chicago,  111. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Riverdale,  111 1905  500  tons 

Rock  County  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Bay  City,  Mich. 
Capital,  $800,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Janesville,  Wis 1904  700  tons 

Sacramento  Valley  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  602  I.  W. 
Hellman  Building,  Los  Angeles,  Calif.     Capital,  $2,210,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Hamilton  City,  Calif 1906  700  tons 

San   Joaquin    Valley   Sugar   Company.     Executive   Office,    311 
California  Street,  San  Francisco,  Calif.     Capital,  $1,000,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Visalia,  Calif 1906  400  tons 

Santa  Ana  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Boston  Building, 
Denver,  Colo.    Capital,  $596,200. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Dyer,  Calif 1912  1,200  tons 

(P.  O.  address,  Santa  Ana, 
Calif.) 


318  Appendix  B 

Sheridan  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Boston  Building, 
Denver,  Colo.     Capital,  $730,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Sheridan,  Wyo 1915  900  tons 


Southern  California  Sugar  Company.  Executive  Office,  Boston 
Building,  Denver,  Colorado.  Capital,  $500,000  outstand- 
ing. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

New  Delhi,  Calif 1908  600  tons 

(P.  O.  address,  Santa  Ana, 

Calif.) 
(Acquired  by  Holly  Sugar  Corporation,  1916.) 


Spreckels  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  60  California  St., 
San  Francisco,  Calif.     Capital,  $5,000,000. 

Factories  Erected  Capacity 

Spreckels,  Calif 1899  4,500  tons 

Manteca,  Calif. 1917  1,200  tons 

Toledo  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Union  Trust  Build- 
ing, Detroit,  Mich.     Capital,  $485,900. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Toledo,  Ohio 1912  1,100  tons 


Union  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  310  Sansome  Street, 
San  Francisco,  Calif.     Capital,  $3,000,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Betteravia,  Calif 1899  1,000  tons 


United  States  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  428  Grand 
Avenue,  Milwaukee,  Wis.     Capital,  $700,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Madison,  Wis 1905  600  tons 


Appendix  B  319 

Utah-Idaho  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah.        Capital,  $23,626,350  issued. 

Factories                                 Erected  Capacity 

Lehi,  Utah 1891  1,200  tons 

Garland,  Utah 1903  900  tons 

Idaho  Falls,  Idaho 1903  900  tons 

Blackfoot,  Idaho 1904  800  tons 

Sugar,  Idaho 1904  900  tons 

Elsinore,  Utah 1911  750  tons 

Payson,  Utah 1913  750  tons 

Spanish  Fork,  Utah      ....     1916  1,000  tons 

West  Jordan,  Utah 1916  750  tons 

Grant's  Pass,  Ore 1916  750  tons 

Shelley,  Idaho 1917  750  tons 

North  Yakima,  Wash 1917  750  tons 


West  Bay  City  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  Bay  City, 
W.  S.,  Mich.     Capital,  $200,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

West  Bay  City,  Mich 1899  900  tons 


West  Cache  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  39  Main  Street, 
Logan,  Utah.     Capital,  $800,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Cornish,  Utah 1917  600  tons 


Wisconsin  Sugar  Company.    Executive  Office,  428  Grand  Avenue, 
Milwaukee,  Wis.     Capital,  $800,000. 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Menomonee  Falls,  Wis.     .     .     .     1897  600  tons 

Rebuilt  1901 


Wyoming  Sugar  Company.     Executive  Office,  618  David  Eccles 
Building,  Ogden,  Utah.     Capital,  $1,000,000 

Factory  Erected  Capacity 

Worland,  Wyo 1917  600  tons 


320 


Appendix  C 


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324 


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INDEX 


Achard  produced  first  commercial 

sugar,  10. 
Acid  soils,  68. 

Adaptations  of  beets,  climatic,  37. 
Agriculture  stabilized  by  beets,  251. 
Air  in  the  soil,  62. 
Alkali,  effect  on  beets,  66,  67. 
Arabian  sugar,  first  record  of,  7. 
Army- worms,  187-189. 
Arundo  saccharifera,  268. 
Availability  of   plant  food  in  soil, 


Bacteria  in  the  soil,  70. 
Bacterium  teutlium  Met.,  202.  V 
Bamboo  as  source  of  sugar,  7.    *^ 
Beet :  \ 

by-products : 

composition  of,  160. 

relation  to  live-stock  industry, 

158. 
contracts : 

advantages  of,  92. 
types  of,  94. 

crown  and  top,  proportions,  159. 
cultivators,  124. 
culture : 

improves  labor  problem,  255. 
increases  business,  256. 
diseases,  198-204. 
dumps,  156. 
farmer,  personal  requirements  of, 

50. 

flower  and  seed  description,  34. 
harvesting  implements,  151-154. 
insect  pests  of,  184-198. 
land,  depth  to  plow,  108. 
leafhopper,  197. 


Beet:  —  Continued 

molasses  as  a  by-product,   177- 

181. 

plows,  151,  152,  154. 
pulp,  168-176. 
dry,  169,  173. 
loss  in  siloing,  168. 
racks,  types  of,  155. 
-root     aphis    (Pemphigus     betae 

Doane),  194. 
-rust  (Uromyces  betae  Kuhn),  202. 


amount  and  depth  to  sow,  115. 

importation  of,  216-219. 
storage  of  sugar  in,  29,  30. 
-sugar  extraction,  opposition  to, 

10. 
-sugar  factories,  3. 

of  America,  312. 
-sugar  industry,  1. 

causes  of  early  failures,  18. 

development  of,  6. 

legislation  on,  in  U.  S.,  19,  21. 
Beetles  harmful  to  beets,  193. 
Beet-raising : 

and  community  welfare,  250-257. 
increased  land  value  by,  2. 
Beets : 

adapted    to    irrigation    farming, 

126. 

and  national  independence,  257. 
botanical  grouping,  22. 
climatic  adaptation,  37,  43. 
commercial  fertilizer  for,  77-81. 
cultivation  of,  123. 
early  history  of,  8. 
economic  adaptation,  44. 
educational  value  of  culture,  254. 


333 


334 


Index 


Beets:  —  Continued 

first  used  as  stock  food,  9. 

hauling  to  market,  155. 

plant  food  requirements  of,  74. 

preparation  for  thinning,  117. 

promote  good  farming,  252. 

shape,  effect  of  irrigation  on,  143. 

size,  irrigation    applications    for, 
136. 

soil  adaptation,  43. 

storing  at  factory,  258. 

suggestive  rotations  for,  89,  90. 

time  to  irrigate,  133-136. 

time  to  prepare  seed-bed  for,  106. 

washing  and  weighing  at  factory, 
260. 

water  requirements  of,  131. 
Beet-sugar : 

industry : 

recent  developments,  20,  21. 
successes  in  U.  S.,  first,  19. 

production  of  U.  S.  by  states,  322. 

production  of  various  countries, 

326. 
Beet  tops,  158-168. 

composition  of,  159,  160. 

hay  from,  162. 

methods  of  feeding,  161,  162. 

silage  from,  feeding,  166-168. 

siloing,  163-166. 

value  of,  as  food,  159. 

yield  of,  158,  159. 
Bengal,  sugar-cane  in,  7. 
Beta  vulgaris  species  of  plants,  22. 
Blister-beetles,  187. 
Blocking  and  thinning  beets,  118. 
Botanical  grouping  of  beets,  22. 
Boys  and  girls  benefited  by  beet 

raising,  4. 

Brazil,  sugar-cane  in,  7. 
Breeding  sugar-beet  seed,  221. 
Business : 

increases  with  beet  culture,  256. 

stabilized  by  beet  raising,  4. 
By-products  of : 

seed  production,  228. 

sugar-beets,  158-183. 


California,     first     successful     beet 

factories,  19. 

Cane-sugar  (see  sugar-cane). 
Capital  requirements  of  beets,  48. 
Caradrina  (laphygmd)  exigua  Hbn., 

187. 

Cattle,  feeding  beet  by-products  to, 
161,  166,  167,  170-174,  178- 
180. 

Centrifuging  the  massecuite,  264. 
Cercospora  beticola  Sacc.,  199. 
Children  profit  from  beet  culture, 

255. 

China,  sugar-cane  in,  7. 
Chlorophyll,  28. 
Chrysomelidae,  193. 
Classification  of  soils,  57. 
Climate,  effect  on  quality  of  beets, 

208,  209. 

Climatic  adaptation  of  beets,  37-43. 
Commercial : 

extraction  of  sugar,  first,  10. 
fertilizer  for  beets,  77-81. 
production  of  beet  seed,  223. 
use  of  sugar,  first,  8. 
Common  army-worm,  188. 
Community     benefited     by     beet 

raising,  4. 

Competing  crops  of  beets,  44. 
Composition  of : 
sugar,  276. 
sugar-beet,  160. 
by-products,  160. 
tops,  159. 
Consumption  of : 
sugar  in  U.  S.,  5. 
world  sugar  supply,  284-286. 
Contracts : 

for  labor  on  sugar-beets,  sample 

of,  100. 
to  raise  beets : 

advantages  of,  92. 
items  included  in,  93. 
samples  of,  95-100. 
types  of,  94. 

Correlation,  size  and  sugar  content 
of  beet,  33. 


Index 


335 


Cossettes,  261. 
Cost: 

and  profit  on  beets,  relation  to 

acres  raised,  237-240. 
of  growing  beets,  231-249. 
based  on  time,  240-246. 
in  various  sections,  234. 
of  producing  beet  seed,  230. 
Crop : 

competition  of  sugar-beets,  44. 
rotations : 

principles  governing,  88. 
reasons  for,  86. 

Crowns    and    tops   of    beets,    pro- 
portion of,  159. 
Crystallizing  beet  sirup  at  factory, 

264. 

Cuba,  sugar-cane  in,  8. 
Cultivating  beets,  123. 
Cultivation  previous  to  thinning, 

118. 
Curly-top   or   curly-leaf   of   beets, 

197. 

Cutworms,  190. 
Cyprus,  sugar-cane  in,  7. 

Damping-off  disease,  204. 
Deep  plowing  best  for  beets,  2. 
Depth  to  plow  beet  land,  109. 
Development     of     beet-sugar     in- 
dustry, 6. 
Digging : 

processes  of,  151. 

time  to  begin,  149,  150. 
Dingley    Act    of    1897,    favorable 

effect,  19. 
Disaccharids,  276. 
Diseases  of  beets,  198-204. 
Drainage : 

reasons  for,  effects  of,  144,  145. 

system,  installing,  147. 
Drains,  kinds  of,  146. 
Dried  sugar-beet  pulp,  169. 
Drought  in  early  fall,  danger  from, 

150. 

Drying,  effect  on  quality  of  beets, 
211. 


Dyer  sugar-beet  factory  first  success 
in  U.S.,  19. 

Economic  adaptation  of  beets,  44. 
Elateridae  (Wireworms),  192. 
Euphrates    valley,    sugar-cane    in, 

7. 
European : 

beet-sugar  industry,  early,  15. 

countries,  early  sugar  supply,  8. 

introduction  of  sugar-cane,  7. 

sugar  factories,  number  of,  3. 
Eutettix  tenella  Baker,  197. 
Extracting  beet  juice  in  factory, 

261. 
Extraction  of  beet-sugar : 

first  method,  9. 

percentage  recovered  now,  266. 

Factories : 

for  beets,  early  failures  in  U.  8., 

16-18. 

in  U.  S.  and  Europe,  3. 
Factors  affecting  quality  of  beets, 

205-212. 
Factory : 

essential  factors  for  success,  52. 
first  in  U.  S.,  16. 

process  of  sugar  making,  258-268. 
Failures  of  early  beet  industry  in 

U.  S.,  16-18. 
Fall  army-worm,  189. 
Fall  plowing  for  sugar-beets,  106. 
Farming  improved  by  beet  culture, 

252. 

Farm  manure : 
conserving,  84. 
for  sugar-beets,  82. 
Feeding : 

beet  pulp  to : 
cattle,  170-174. 
horses,  175. 
pigs,  175. 
sheep,  174,  175. 
beet  tops : 

methods,  161,  162. 
silage  from,  166-168. 


336 


Index 


Fertility : 

determination  of  soil,  76. 

maintenance  of,  75. 

of  soil,  elements  of,  69. 

requirements  of  beets,  74. 
Fertilizer : 

commercial,  for  beets,  77-81. 

home-mixing  of,  82. 

indirect,  81. 
Flea-beetles,  193. 

Flower  and  seed  of  sugar-beets,  34. 
Food,  value  of  sugar  as,  279-283. 
Frederick  the  Great  fostered  beet- 
sugar  industry,  11. 
Frederick   William  III    aided    first 

beet  factory,  11. 
Freezing : 

and  heating  of  siloed  beets,  157. 

effect  on  quality  of  beets,  211. 

-in  of  beets,  149. 

French    encouragement    to     beet- 
sugar  industry,  11-13. 
Frost : 

danger  during  harvest,  149. 

effect  on  growing  beets,  39. 
Fruits : 

as  source  of  sweet,  7. 

sugar  in,  278. 

German   encouragement    to    beet- 
sugar  industry,  13,  15. 
Jrermination   power   of    seed,    im- 
portance of,  214,  218. 
Grasshoppers,  193. 
Green-manures,  use  of,  85. 
Growth : 

habit  of  sugar-beets,  23. 

of  beet-sugar  industry,  8. 

of  beet  plant,  26-29. 

of  industry,  factors  affecting,  2. 
Guadeloupe,  sugar-cane  in,  8. 
Gypsum  as  a  fertilizer,  81. 

Hail,  effect  on  beet  growing,  42. 
Harvesting : 

and  threshing  beet  seed,  227. 

beets,  time  of,  148-150. 


Harvesting:  —  Continued 
implements,  151-154. 
processes  of,  151. 
Hauling  beets,  155. 
Hay  from  sugar-beet  tops,  162. 
Heart-rot    of    beets  (Phoma    betae 

Frank),  200. 
Heating    and    freezing    of    siloed 

beets,  157. 
Heat  in  the  soil,  63. 
Heterodera  schachtii  Schmidt,   195. 
Hoeing     sugar-beets,     importance 

of,  122. 
Holding  water  off  to  bring  maturity, 

150. 

Home-mixing  of  fertilizer,  82. 
Honey    formerly    chief    source    of 

sweet,  7. 
Horses,   feeding    beet   by-products 

to,  168,  175,  180. 
Humus  in  the  soil,  64. 

Implements  for : 

harvesting  beets,  151-154. 

preparing  beet  seed-bed,  110. 
Importation    of    beet    seed,    216, 

217. 

Increase  of  sugar  in  beets,  6. 
India,  as  source  of  sugar,  7. 
Indirect  fertilizers,  81. 
Injury   to   beets  by  insect   pests, 

184. 

Insecticides,  186. 
Insect  pests  of  beets,  184-198. 
Iron  sulfate  as  a  fertilizer,  81. 
Irrigation : 

amount  to  give  beets,  131-133. 

before  plowing,  benefits,  110. 

effect  on  beet,  137-144. 

methods  of,  130. 

of  beets,  126-144. 

preparation  of  land  for,  129. 

size  of  each  application,  136. 

time  to  apply  to  beets,  133-136. 

water : 

sources  of,  127. 
terms  used  with,  129. 


Index 


337 


Juice  of  beets : 
evaporation,  263. 
extraction,  261. 
purification,  262. 

Labor : 

agreement  or  contract,  sample  of, 

100. 
and  cost  of  beet  production,  240- 

246. 
furnished  boys  and  girls  by  beets, 

4. 

problem  in  beet  growing,  45. 
stabilized  by  beet  growing,  255. 
Lachnosternaspp.  (white  grubs),  191. 
Land : 

drainage,  144-147. 

values  increased  by  beet  raising, 

2. 

Laphygma  frugiperda  S.  and  A.,  189. 
Leaf-beetles,  193. 
Leafhopper  Eutettix  tenella  Baker, 

197. 
Leaf-spot  Cercospora  beticola  Sacc., 

199. 
Legislation : 

factor  in  beet-sugar  industry,  1. 
in  U.  S.,  effect  on  sugar  industry, 

19,  21. 

unfavorable    to    early    beet    in- 
dustry, 13. 

Legumes  as  green-manure,  85. 
Length  of  beets,  effect  of  irrigation 

on,  141. 

Leucania  unipuncta  Haw.,  188. 
Leveling  land  for  irrigation,  129. 
Lexostege  sp.,  190. 
Lifting     or     loosening     beet     im- 
plements, 151,  152. 
Lime : 

as  a  by-product  of  beet  factory, 

181. 

as  a  fertilizer,  68,  81. 
Livestock : 

feeding  beet  pulp  to,  169-176. 
feeding   beet-tops   to,    161,    162, 
166,  167,  168. 
z 


Livestock:  —  Continued 
relation  to  beet-sugar  industry, 

158. 
Losses  in  weight,  harvesting  beets, 

154. 
Louisiana,  sugar-cane  in,  8. 

Madeira,     sugar-cane     introduced 

into,  7. 
Manure : 

for  sugar-beets,  82. 

how  best  to  use,  84. 

storing  of,  84. 
Manuring : 

and  rotations,  73-91. 

with  green-manure,  85. 
Marggraf  first  obtained  beet-sugar, 

9. 

Martinique,  sugar-cane  in,  8. 
Massachusetts,    first   beet   factory 

of,  16. 

Massecuite,  centrifuging,  264. 
Maturity,   indications  of,  in   beet, 

149. 
Mechanical  harvesters  or  toppers, 

154. 

Medicine,  use  of  sugar  as,  6. 
Mexico,  sugar-cane  in,  8. 
Moisture : 

effect  on  beet  growing,  40,  42. 

in  the  soil,  64. 

Molasses,  feeding  value  and  com- 
position, 177-181. 
Monosaccharids,  276. 
Moors  took  sugar-cane  to  Spain,  7. 
Mother  beets : 

planting  of,  225. 

testing  for  quality,  221,  222. 

Napoleon    encouraged     beet-sugar 

industry,  11,  12. 
National    independence    increased 

by  home  sugar,  4. 
Natural  sugars,  277,  278. 
Nebraska,  first  sugar  factories  of, 

19. 
Nematode,  sugar-beet,  195. 


338 


Index 


Nitrogen  fertilizer  for  beets,  74,  78. 
Noctuidae  (cutworms),  190. 
Number  of  beet  factories  in  U.  S. 
and  Europe,  3. 

Oliver  de  Serres  records  sweet- 
ness of  beets,  9. 

Oospora  scabies  Thaxt.,  201. 

Organic  matter  in  the  soil,  63. 

Origin  of  soils,  56. 

Osmosis,  27. 

Oxnard  Brothers,  early  interest  in 
beet  industry,  19. 

Pemphigus  betae  Doane,  194. 

Persia,  sugar-cane  in,  7. 

Pests  and  diseases  of  beets,   184- 

204. 

Phoma,  204. 
Phoma  betae  Frank,  200. 
Phosphoric  acid  fertilizer  for  beets, 

74,  77,  79. 

Pigs,  feeding  beet  by-products  to, 
167,  168,  175,  176,  180,   181. 
Plant-breeding,  aid  of  to  beets,  6. 
Plant-food : 
in  the  soil,  69. 
requirements  of  beets,  74. 
Planting : 

beet  seed,  113-115. 
mothers  or  stecklinge,  225. 
Pliny    on    sugar    in    Arabia     and 

India,  7. 
Plowing : 

best  depths  for  beets,  108. 
reasons  for  thoroughness  in,  104. 
time  of,  for  beets,  106. 
Population     increases     with     beet 

culture,  256. 

Portugal,  King  of,  dispersed  sugar- 
cane, 7. 
Potash  fertilizer  for  beets,  74,  77, 

80. 

Precipitation,  effect  on  beet  grow- 
ing, 42. 

Preparation  of  beet  land  for  irriga- 
tion, 129. 


Preparing  seed-bed,  effect  of  pre- 
vious crop,  103. 
Price   of   land   increased    by   beet 

raising,  2. 

Prices  of  first  sugar,  8. 
Profits  from  seed  production,  230. 
Prosperity  follows  beet  culture,  256. 
Puddled  soil.  62. 
Pulp  from  sugar-beets,  168-176. 

dried,  169. 

loss  in  siloing,  168. 
Pythium,  204. 

Quality  of  beets,  factors  effecting, 
205-212. 

Rainfall,    effect  on   beet   growing, 

40,  42. 

Rhizoctonia  of  beet,  203,  204. 
Ripening  : 

before  digging  time,  danger  of, 

150. 

indications  of,  149. 
period,  water  requirements,  150. 
Rolling   beet   seed-bed,    111,    116, 

118. 

Root-rot  or  Rhizoctonia,  203. 
Root  tips    and   waste  sugar-beets 

for  feeding,  176. 
Rotations,  86-91. 
•4 

Salt  as  a  fertilizer,  81. 
Sampling    and    taring     beets    on 

delivery,  156. 

San  Domingo,  sugar  cane  in,  8. 
Scab  of  beet  (Oospora  scabies  Thaxt.) , 

201. 
Science,  aid  to  beet-sugar  industry, 

6. 

Sedentary  soils,  58. 
Seed: 

amount  to  sow,  114,  115. 
and  flower  of  sugar-beet,  34. 
-bed: 

final  preparation,  111. 
preparation  and  planting,  103- 
116. 


Index 


339 


Seed:  —  Continued 

crop,  care  during  growth,  226. 

factors  showing  quality,  112. 

harvesting  and  threshing  of,  227. 

importation  of,  216-219. 

production,  213-230. 
by-products  of,  228. 
commercial  method  of,  223. 
in  U.  S.,  216. 

quality,  importance  of,  213,  214. 

raising,  profits  from,  230. 

sources  of,  215. 

yield  of,  229. 

Selection  of  mother  beets,  221,  222. 
Sheep,  feeding  beet  by-products  to, 

167,  174,  175,  180. 
Sicily,  sugar-cane  in,  7. 
Signs  of  ripening  in  beet,  149. 
Silage  from  beet  tops,  use  of,  166- 

168. 
Siloing : 

beets,  157. 

beet  tops,  163-166. 

stecklinge,  224. 
Single-germ  seed,  220. 
Sirup  as  source  of  sweet,  7. 
Size  of  beet  and  sugar  content,  33. 
Slicing  beets  in  factory,  261. 
Soft-rot   of    beets  (Bacterium  teut- 

lium  Met.),  202. 
Soil: 

acidity,  68. 

adaptation  of  beets,  43. 

air  in,  62. 

alkali,  66. 

and  subsoil,  58. 

bacteria  of,  70. 

determining   fertilizer    needs    of, 
76. 

effect  on  quality  of  beets,  210. 

fertility : 

elements  of,  69. 
maintenance  of,  75. 

heat,  63. 

moisture,  64. 

organic  matter  of,  63. 

organisms,  70. 


Soil:  —  Continued 
plant  food  in,  69. 
relation  to  beet  culture,  54,  55. 
structure,  61. 
texture,  59,  60. 
tilth,  improvement  of,  61. 
Soils : 

adapted  to  sugar-beets,  71. 
classification  of,  57. 
origin  of,  56. 
Soot  as  a  fertilizer,  81. 
Spain,  sugar-cane  taken  to  early,  7. 
Spreckels  early  sugar  factory,  19. 
Stand  of  beets,  importance  of,  115, 

121. 

Stecklinge,  223,  225. 
Steffen  process  of  extracting  sugar, 

265. 

Stomata,  28. 
Storage : 

of   beets,  effect  on  quality,  211, 

212. 

of  sugar  in  beet,  29,  30. 
Storing : 

beets  at  factory,  258. 
stecklinge,  224. 
Structure  of  soils,  61. 
Subsoil,  58. 

Subsoiling  for  beets,  109. 
Successful    commercial   beet   sugar 
production  in  U.  S.,   18-21. 
Sucrose  in  beet,  effect  of  irrigation 

on,  139,  140. 
Sugar : 

consumption  of  per  capita,  284- 

286. 
content,  relation  to  size  of   beet, 

33. 

early  sources  and  prices  of,  8. 
early  use  of,  6. 
extraction : 

early  improvements  in,  13. 
extraction  from  beets : 
first,  9. 

in  U.  S.  by  states,  322. 
in  various  countries,  326. 
opposition  to,  early,  10. 


340 


Index 


Sugar:  —  Continued 
factories : 

beet,  3. 

in  America,  present,  312. 

rapid  growth  in  U.  S.,  20. 
first  commercial  extraction  from 

beets  10. 

future  supply  of,  291. 
in  beet : 

factors  affecting,  31,  32. 

first  discovery,  9. 
increase  in  consumption,  283. 
industry : 

causes  of  early  failures,  18. 

in  U.  S.,  early,  16. 
in  nature,  277,  278. 
introduction  into : 

commerce,  8. 

diet  of  Europeans,  8. 
kinds  and  properties,  275. 
making  of,  258-267. 
percentage  extracted  from  beets, 

266. 
production  of : 

Europe,  early,  15. 

U.  S.,  292.  yearly,  320-322. 

World,  287-291,  326. 
properties  of,  276. 
storage  of,  in  beets,  29,  30,  150. 
trade,  first  competition  in,  8. 
use  as  medicine,  6. 
use  confined  to  modern  times,  6. 
value  as  a  food,  279-283. 
wholesale     prices    monthly   and 

yearly,  324. 
Sugar-beet : 

by-products,  158-183. 

composition  of,  160,  182. 

importance  of,  158. 
conditions  for  growing,  36-53. 
contracts : 

items  included,  93. 

sample  of,  95-100. 
diseases,  198-204. 
factories : 

early  failures  in  U.  S.,  16-18. 

of  America,  312. 


Sugar-beet:  —  Continued 
factories:  —  Continued 

of  the  U.  S.  by  states,  322. 
factors    affecting    sugar    in,    31, 

32. 
factory : 

first  in  U.  S.,  16,  17. 
requirements  for  success,  52. 
flowering  habits,  34. 
habit  of  growth,  23. 
industry : 

early  decline  of,  12. 
encouraged  by  Napoleon,   11, 

12. 
favorable  conditions  for  growth 

in  Germany,  13,  15. 
first  success  in  U.  S.,  19. 
fostered     by     Frederick     the 

Great,  11. 

growth  of,  12,  13,  15. 
recent  developments,  20,  21. 
molasses  as  a  by-product,   177- 

181. 

mosaic,  203. 
nematode,  195. 
pests  and  diseases,  184-204. 
plant : 

description  of,  24,  25. 
elements  essential  to  growth, 

27. 
growth    and     feeding    habits, 

26-29. 
production : 

of  U.  S.  yearly  by  states,  322. 
of  world,  326. 
pulp,  168-176. 
dry,  169,  173. 
loss  in  siloing,  168. 
raising,  personal  requirements  for, 

50. 
seed: 

breeding,  221. 

harvesting  and  threshing,  227. 
importation,    216-219. 
production,  213-230. 
commercial,  223. 
of  the  U.  S.,  216. 


Index 


341 


Sugar-beet:  —  Continued 
seed:  —  Continued 

quality,  indications  of,  112. 

sources  of,  215. 

time  to  plant,  113. 

yield  and  profit,  229,  230. 
soil,  selection  of,  71. 
tops,  158-168. 

composition  of,  159,  160. 

hay  from,  162. 

methods  of  feeding,  161,  162. 

silage  from,  feeding  of,  166-168. 

siloing,  163-166. 
types  of,  219. 
webworm,  190. 
Sugar-beets : 

and  root  tips,  feeding  of,  176. 
a  profitable  crop,  2. 
area  raised  in : 

different  countries,  326. 

each  state  of  U.  S.,  322. 
blocking  and  thinning,  117-122. 
botanical  grouping,  22. 
bring  national  independence,  257. 
capital  required  to  raise,  48. 
cash  crop,  4. 

climatic  adaptation,  37-43. 
commercial  fertilizer  for,  77-81. 
cost  of  production,  231-249. 
early  history  of,  8. 
economic    conditions    for    grow- 
ing, 44. 

effect  of  irrigation  on,  137-144. 
farm  manure  for,  82. 
fit  in  with  grain  production,  4. 
furnish  much  stock  feed,  4. 
help  weed  problem,  4. 
importance  of  stand  to  yield,  115. 
increase  yield  of  other  crops,  4. 
in  U.  S.,  first,  16. 
irrigation  of,  126-144. 
labor  problem  of,  45. 
origin  of,  22. 

plant  food  requirements  of,  74. 
quality  in,  205-212. 
relation  to  soil,  54,  55. 
rotations  for,  88. 


Sugar-beeta:  —  Continued 
soil  adaptation,  43. 
stabilize  agriculture,  251. 
time  to  plow  for  seed-bed,  106. 
transportation  requirements,  49. 
water  requirements,  131-133. 
yield  per  acre : 

different  countries,  326. 

of  states  of  U.  S.,  322. 
Sugar  Bounty  Act  of   1890,  favor- 
able effect,  19. 
Sugar-cane,  268-274. 
adaptation  of,  270. 
cultural  methods,  272. 
description  and  varieties,  269. 
extraction  of  sugar  from,  274. 
harvesting,  273. 
in : 

Brazil,  7. 

Cuba,  8. 

Cyprus,  7. 

Euphrates  Valley,  7. 

Guadeloupe,  8. 

Island  of  San  Domingo,  8. 

Louisiana,  8. 

Martinique,  8. 

Mexico,  8. 

Persia,  7. 

Sicily,  7. 

Spain,  7. 

Tigris  Valley,  7. 
introduced  into  Europe,  7. 
production  of  the  world,  330. 
soils  and  manuring,  271. 
yield  of,  274. 

Sunlight,  effect  on  beet  growing,  40. 
Sweet  of   beets    first  recorded   by 
Oliver  de  Serres,  9. 

Taring  beets  at  receiving  station, 

156. 
Temperature   adaptation  of  beets, 

37. 

Temperature  of  soil,  63. 
Texture  of  soils,  59,  60. 
Theophrastus  on  sugar,  7. 
Thermal  adaptation  of  beets,  37. 


342 


Index 


Thinning  sugar-beets,  117-122. 
Tigris  Valley,  sugar-cane  in,  7. 
Tilth  of  soil,  improvement  of, 

61. 

Time  to  harvest  beets,  149,  150. 
Tonnage    increase    of    beets    near 

harvest  time,  150. 
Topping  beets,  152-155. 
Topping  machines  for  beets,  154. 
Tops  : 

and  crowns  of  beets,  proportion 

of,  159. 

height  of,  as  influenced  by  irri- 
gation, 144. 
of  beets,  158-168. 

composition  of,  159,  160. 
value  of,  159. 
Transportation  as  a  factor  in  beet 

growing,  49. 
Transported  soils,  58. 
Tychea  brevicornis  Hart,  195. 
Types  of  beets,  219. 

Utah,  first  sugar  factories  of,  16, 
19. 

Varieties  of  beets  first  recognized, 

8,  9. 
Varieties      of      sugar-beets,      219, 

220. 

Wagons  used  to  haul  beets,  descrip- 
tion of,  155. 


Waste : 

lime  and  minor  by-products  of 

factory,  181-183. 
sugar-beets  and  root  tips,  176. 
Water : 

kinds  of,  in  soils,  65. 
-logged  soil,  62. 
measuring  devices,  129. 
withholding    from    beets    before 

harvest,  150. 

Weeds,  relation  to  beet  industry,  4. 
Weight : 

increase   in   beet,    effect   of   irri- 
gation on,  141. 

loss  in  beets  during  harvest,  154. 
of    beet,    increase    near    harvest 

time,  150. 
White  grubs,  191. 
Wilson    Act    unfavorable    to    beet 

sugar,  19. 

Wind,  effect  on  beet  growing,  43. 
Wireworms  (Elateridae) ,  192. 
Work  necessary  to  raise  beets,  240- 
246. 

Yield  of  beets: 

effect  of  distance  apart  of  plants, 

119,  121. 

irrigation  water,  effect  of,  132. 
Yields : 

increase  on  all  crops  with  beet 

culture,  253. 
of  sugar-beet  seed,  228. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


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